Teen headed to Taylor Swift concert in Australia killed when SUV crashes into semi

A 16-year-old fan of Taylor Swift who was headed to a concert in Australia to see the pop star was killed on Thursday when her family was involved in a head-on crash with a semi-trailer, authorities said.

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Mieka Pokarier was traveling from the Gold Coast with her mother and 10-year-old sister when their vehicle and a semi-trailer collided about 18 miles northeast of Dubbo in New South Wales, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The girls and their mother were on an 11-day road trip to catch the 14-time Grammy Award winner during her Eras Tour stop at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, according to 7 News Australia.

Pokarier, who was in the front passenger seat, died at the scene, CNN reported. Her sister, who was in the back seat, is in critical condition at an area hospital, according to 7 News Australia.

The younger child was in an induced coma with swelling on her brain and organ damage, the Morning News reported. She also had a broken leg and a suspected shoulder fracture.

Their mother, Kim Litchfield, was treated by paramedics before she was transported to Dubbo Hospital with minor injuries, 7 News Australia reported.

The driver of the semi-trailer was taken to Dubbo Hospital and was in stable condition, New South Wales police said in a statement.

Pokarier’s godmother, Karleigh Fox, said the teen was “vivacious and very cheeky,” the Morning Herald. Fox said that Pokarier would make pottery and friendship bracelets for her loved ones and had a close relationship with her siblings.

“She just had this sparkle in her eye,” Fox told the newspaper. “And it sounds really cliched, but she was just a really beautiful person who was very thoughtful.”

Fox said the girls were “super fans’ of Swift.

“It just kind of feels like Mieka must just be staying at someone’s house and I think it’s really going to hit us further when we get home, the reality of it, that she’s not coming back,” Fox told 9 News Australia. “When we opened the iPad, it was heartbreaking. Mieka’s cat’s name is Mr Perfectly Fine, which is a song of Taylor’s.”

Litchfield has kept a bedside vigil for her surviving daughter at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital, the Australian Broadcasting Company reported.

“She had brain surgery, they shaved this part of her head, she looks like the most beautiful Viking you’ve ever seen,” Litchfield told the news outlet.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to support Pokarier’s relatives.

“My family are what I live for,” the girl’s father, Peter Pokarier, told 7 News Australia. “I’m devastated.”

New South Wales police confirmed that an investigation is ongoing.

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Photos: Taylor Swift through the years Here are some memorable photos of Taylor Swift through the years. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for MTV)

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