Authorities Monday identified three people killed in a traffic accident east of Council Bluffs Sunday evening.

They are 39-year-old Deidre Whitehill of rural Council Bluffs, her daughter, 14-year-old Kelsey Breemes of Lincoln and Kelsey's friend, 11-year-old Haylee Beck of Council Bluffs.

They were returning from a birthday party, heading westbound on Highway 92. Kelsey's half-sister had turned seven.

Around 6 p.m., witnesses say Whitehill lost control of her car. It crossed the center line and hit an eastbound minivan head-on near 230th Street.

Whitehill and her daughter were pronounced dead at the scene. Beck was hospitalized, but later died.

The driver of the van, 53-year-old Tanya Donney of Carson, Iowa suffered minor injuries.

Haylee Beck was a fifth-grader at Hoover Elementary School in Council Bluffs and was in her first year of band class. "She played the clarinet and was doing a wonderful job," says band teacher Mark Mendell.

He says Haylee was just a wonderful person to be around. "She was a beautiful, wide-eyed kid. Always came in with a smile on her face and always happy, really loved by the rest of the class, too."

A class and school that like so many, are now mourning and remembering. "I'm kind of on auto pilot today," says Mendell. "I think most of the teachers are, to get through it. I didn't learn about it until this morning and I was with kids at the time so we've been dealing with it as best we can so far."

Counselors were at the school working students through the grieving process and helping them cope.

"This morning, we just allowed many students just to cry and say it was alright to feel this way and let them kind of get those feelings out and as the morning went on we were able to talk with them more about how they knew Haylee," says counselor Pam Henrickson.

Counselors were also at Mickle Middle School in Lincoln, which Kelsey Breemes attended.

Counselors say the best way for parents to help their children through something like this is to be honest with them and listen. Counselors will be at Hoover until 7:30 p.m. Monday to help.

"When we saw each other it was like best friends, played together constantly, laughing, smiling, running around, going down the slide," says Kelsey’s cousin, Renae Breemes.

With Kelsey now gone, Renae can only think of what she'd like to tell her. "I would just give her a big hug and tell her how much I loved her."

It's a comfort the entire family could use right now. That, and some of her joy. "Such joy and such love in her heart,” says Kelsey’s aunt, Dawn Rudd. “There was never a moment that she didn't enter a room and she didn't light it up."

Deidre's mother tells Channel 6 News she was the kind of person who would do anything for anyone, someone who was loved by all.

One of Haylee's family members says the best part of Haylee, her heart, was donated to help someone else. She can only hope it keeps another family from going through the same suffering they are.

Visitations and funerals for all three have not yet been set.