Amanda Ferguson, teen who died in retention pond crash, remembered as loving friend, light

Irreplaceable. Special. Kind. Friend. Loving. Angel. Positive.

That’s how friends described Amanda Ferguson, 18, in direct messages to The News-Press. Ferguson was one of five teenagers who died in a retention pond south of Colonial Boulevard and west of I-75 when their car crashed into the water late Sunday or early Monday.

“Amanda was the kindest person I’ve ever met. To know Amanda was to love Amanda. She was kind to everyone and never let anything change her sunny disposition,” said her friend Ariana Raldiris, who she met through mutual friends in high school.

Ferguson worked at Texas Roadhouse, 8021 Dani Dr. in Fort Myers, at the host and to-go stations. For nearly two years she and her friend Tahir Stephens worked together, delivering bread from Texas Roadhouse across the county while blasting country music and making their cheeks hurt from laughter.

“I don’t think anyone had the strength that she had,” Stephens said. “The ability to make everyone burst out in laughter... Every memory I have of her, she somehow has me dying of laughter.”

Stephens and Ferguson met in high school but grew closer junior year. He was on the football team while she was a cheerleader. This year they took first place in Texas Roadhouse’s line dancing competition, which she encouraged him to join.

"Amanda was MY light, MY strength, MY love,” Stephens said. “She always had a different perspective of life that I never grasped. She couldn’t not give her light to others. I think in this life everyone meets their Amanda, their friend with undying loyalty and light that can bring you from a dark place anytime.”

After graduating from Lehigh Senior High in 2022, she started attending Florida SouthWestern State College while working at Texas Roadhouse. Her plan was to get her associate degree before transferring to another college or university to obtain her bachelor's degree in teaching.

She dreamed of becoming a teacher, working at her alma mater, Lehigh Senior High, to try and make a difference in her hometown children’s lives, according to her friend Kelsey VanMeter, who she met freshman year of high school through the cheer team.

“Amanda was the brightest person in my life,” said VanMeter. “She would light up the room everywhere she was and she always had a smile on her face wherever she was.”

The little things

Every morning before school, Ferguson would get a medium caramel iced coffee with cream and sugar at Dunkin Donuts.  She and VanMeter worked there in high school and made their way through most of the drink menu.

She was a cheerleader, on the homecoming court and a class favorite, according to Raldiris. She always came to support her friends at their events.

"She was so confident, she didn't care what anyone thought about her," said Te'Anna Johnson, who has known Ferguson since elementary school. "She was literally the person I could go to for everything."

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She enjoyed making TikToks and riding all the roller coasters at Busch Gardens, her favorite of which was Cobra’s Curse. But she also loved taking a break from the heat to catch an ice-skating show. She was a major Harry Styles fan, who knew every word in his discography. She had a favorite Bath and Body Works scent for every season: twisted peppermint was her go to winter scent while the rest of the year she gravitated toward thousand wishes.

She loved the beach and would always stay until the sunset, according to VanMeter. She never failed to make everyone around her laugh and would always stop and say hi to to the people she knew.

“I’ll never forget the time we went to Fort Myers beach last summer, and we saw dolphins and she was so excited she couldn’t contain herself,” VanMeter said.

Raldiris and Ferguson recently attended Morgan Wallen’s concert, one of the duo’s favorite country singers.

“She got the email that she got selected for the presale of Morgan Wallen tickets and she came over to my house to get them with me and my mom so she could go with my family,” Raldiris said. We were fighting with Ticketmaster because it kept crashing and her and my mom were screaming. When we finally got our tickets she lost her mind.

"At the concert her and I sang every word to every song. My favorite picture and video of us is from that concert. It was one of the best nights of my life and I couldn’t picture it with anyone else but her.”

Ferguson was a devout member of Next Level Church. She, VanMeter and Raldiris all took part in the church’s youth group.

“We would always sit together and hold hands while worshipping, and she loved participating in the games they had,” VanMeter said.

“She loved Jesus and she loved people like Jesus. She embodied the fruits of the spirit,” Raldiris said.

Amanda leaves behind her younger brother, parents and a community that adored her, according to Raldiris.

“I feel sorry for anybody who didn’t get the honor of meeting Amanda,” Raldiris said. “She changed my life for the better, and will continue to have an impact on everyone who knew and loved her.

It was an honor to be best friends with her. The world is not going to be the same without her here.”

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Amanda Ferguson: Teen who died in Fort Myers crash remembered