Madison Brooke Duke, 17, was known as a kind, caring, lovable and bright student by teachers and staff members at Bigfork High School.

Madison, who was wearing her seat belt, died of head injuries Sunday afternoon when the sport utility vehicle she was in rolled off U.S. 93 north of Kalispell and caught fire, according to law enforcement. Another youth, who was driving the vehicle, survived. Both had been pulled out of the vehicle by witnesses.

Madison would have been a senior at Bigfork High School this fall.

“We are all shocked and saddened by this event. We are sharing this information with our staff and students so they know the facts and know where to receive support if desired,” Bigfork School District Superintendent Matt Jensen wrote in a newsletter emailed to parents and the school community Monday. “Our prayers are with the Duke family.”

Counselors were made available Tuesday to students in two counseling sessions at the elementary and middle school. Jensen said in a phone interview Tuesday that additional sessions would be added as needed.

“We are saddened,” Jensen said. “She was a lovely kid and we’re going to miss her.”

During high school, Madison worked as a “Bigfork buddy” supervising children at a day care program at the high school, served as a manager for the wrestling team, had been involved in choir, earning excellent ratings at district music festivals, liked drawing and was briefly on the swim team.

Bigfork High School English teachers Charlotte Ball and Charlie Appleby had Madison in their classes. Both teachers’ young children also got to know Madison through the day-care program.

Appleby had Madison for a semester and perceived her as a bright student.

“She was brilliant — she really was,” Appleby said. “She was so kind. It’s such a terrible loss.”

Ball, who had Madison as a student for two years, also described Madison as a bright student trying to graduate a semester early.

“She was extremely driven,” Ball said.

Ball, who coaches the swim team, said Madison was social, and one of the reasons she initially joined the team was to be with friends.

“She loved being with her friends and being social,” Ball said. “She was incredibly sweet and caring. She always had a smile on her face and was very respectful.”

In a small high school, where total enrollment last year was 283 students, the loss of a student hits hard.

“She’s going to be greatly missed,” Ball said.

Josh Feller, Bigfork High School math teacher and former wrestling coach, said Madison pitched in at a time when the team had been going through managers “quite a bit.” Even though she didn’t have any previous knowledge of wrestling, Feller was impressed by her willingness to learn the sport.

“She picked up on everything we were doing pretty quick. She learned how to do statistics for us knowing how important having everything correct is in the postseason,” Feller said. “She wanted to know as much as she could.”

Madison was the person to count on when there was a need for someone to come early to clean the wrestling mats and leave late to clean towels and uniforms, and in between jot down statistics and tape ankles and wrists.

“She was really willing to go the extra mile to help the team out,” Feller said. “She put everyone else first.”

Feller’s 4-year-old daughter also got to know Madison through the day-care program.

“My daughter got to know her pretty well. She would run and give her a hug,” Feller said. He said he’s grappling with how he will tell his daughter about Madison’s death.

“And that’s something I’ll miss — I know how much she cared about people,” Feller said. “It’s going to be tough. She knew everybody and everybody knew her. I don’t think the school is going to realize how much they’ll miss her until school starts.”

Madison was the daughter of Andrew and Stephanie Duke.

A celebration of life for Madison will be held at 11 a.m. July 16 at The Community United Methodist Church in Bigfork.

Hilary Matheson is a reporter for The Daily Inter Lake. She may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.