Columbus woman who died trying to save her son was former Tri-Valley High School student

Tri-Valley High School Principal John Harris said the death of Alexa (Gough) Stakely, 29, who was hit by her own car July 11 while trying to save her son, is heartbreaking.

“She attended Tri-Valley during the 2009-10 school year,” said Harris. “She was here as a sophomore.”

Superintendent Mark Neal called it “a terrible senseless tragedy.”

Stakely worked as a speech pathologist for Canal Winchester Local Schools.

Columbus police said Stakely took her sleeping son out to her Honda CRV and left the vehicle running while she went back to the front door to get something she forgot. When Stakely turned around, she saw her vehicle backing up, with her son inside, and began yelling and running after the car.

The SUV hit and killed Stakely, who died at Mount Carmel East. Authorities found the vehicle a short distance away along with her son, who was not hurt.

Columbus Police have released footage of three male subjects suspected to be involved in the incident, but no arrests have been made.

Loose Rail Brewery in Canal Winchester, where Alexa and her family were regular patrons, will host a fundraiser Monday, July 22, from 4 to 10 p.m. for Alexa’s family. The money will be placed into a trust for Deluca.

Lyle’s Bakery and Catering will also sell baked goods with all profits going toward the trust. A GoFundMe started to raise $15,000 for Alexa’s family has well surpassed that goal at $86,357 with more than 1,600 donations.

Stakely was born Columbus and attended several different schools before graduating from Bloom Carroll High School in 2012. She graduated magna cum laude from the Ohio State University in 2016 with a bachelor's degree in speech and hearing science, then received her master's in 2018. She worked for Capital Therapy Services and completed her Clinical Fellowship Year (CFY) serving students with speech and language disorders at Fairfield Union Schools and in the pediatric outpatient clinic in Canal Winchester. After her fellowship year, she earned her Certificate of Clinical Competence and was fully licensed by the Ohio Speech and Hearing Professionals Board and the Ohio Department of Education.

Stakely began working at Canal Winchester Schools in 2019 to serve children in the special-needs preschool program at Winchester Trail Elementary, while continuing to work with Capital Therapy Services for five years as a part-time speech-language pathologist.