Notable TikTok user Rochelle Hager died Monday in what authorities have described as a “tragic and unique” accident.
According to Newsweek, the 31-year-old Maine resident, who went by @roeurboat3 on social media, was killed shortly before 10 a.m. local time while driving in Farmington, Maine. Officials say strong winds caused a roadside tree to snap just as Hager was passing in her Nissan SUV. Power lines, a utility pole, and tree branches immediately began falling, with the largest branch ultimately crushing the driver’s side of Hager’s SUV.
Farmington Police Chief Kenneth Charles told reporters Hager was pronounced dead at the scene.
“[It was] obviously the direct result of the high winds today,” Charles said during a press conference, as reported by the Press Herald. “Nothing she could do to avoid it.”
Hager’s fiancée, Brittanie Lynn Ritchie, confirmed the tragedy via TikTok on Monday, sharing a series of tribute videos and heartfelt messages.
“We were getting married October 16 — we had already gotten the venue and photographer and everything,” Ritchie told Central Maine, before revealing she was speaking to Hager over the phone when the accident occurred. “It happened really quick. She has a phone mounted in her vent. I just heard a crash and then there was nothing. She didn’t see the tree coming. It was instant.”
Hager, who also worked as an executive chef, was a popular TikTok user, having amassed more than 130,000 followers and 1.2 million likes.
