EL PASO, Texas - 
 
 Saturday ABC-7 confirmed with the Ysleta Independent School District that the teen killed in a carnival ride was a student at J.M. Hanks High School. 
 
 
 
 A district spokesman confirms the teen was Sammie Aguilar. 
 
 
 
 Friends say she was 16 and was on the track & field team. 
 
 District officials say they are gathering the facts at this time and will have counselors on hand for students on Monday. 
 
 
 
 ABC-7 crews were at St. Thomas Aquinas Church on Saturday but did not see any agencies investigating the scene. 
 
 
 
 Church services went on as normal but the carnival was shut down. 
 
 
 
 Police told ABC-7 the incident is still under investigation. 
 
 
 
 Carnival grounds are usually filled with laughter, people and flashing lights. 
 
 
 
 What was supposed to be a three-day celebration for children, turned deadly. 
 
 
 
 Friday night the church was eerily quiet, the celebration canceled. The only flashing lights Friday were from police cars 
 
 "When you receive a phone call like this you really kind of hope that you guys(the media) have gotten the information wrong. To be perfectly honest I just thought there's no way this really happened," said Elizabeth O'Hara, spokeswoman for the Catholic Diocese of El Paso. 
 
 
 
 The three girls were on a ride called the "Sizzler." 
 
 
 
 Two girls were ejected from their seats. One was treated for a bump on the head; 
 
 the other, Sam Aguilar, slammed into a metal barrier. 
 
 
 
 She died at Del Sol Medical Center. 
 
 The news of Aguilar's death was heart wrenching for many, especially for those at St. Thomas Aquinas. 
 
 
 
 "I can tell you that having the opportunity to speak to Father Ed, he is crushed. He loves this community and he was doing this for the community as an event for children so to see that a young girl has been killed and one has been injured it's devastating," O'hara said. 
 
 
 
 Police are now investigating the company that owns the ride, Las Cruces based, Playtime Amusements Inc. 
 
 
 
 Officials couldn't say whether the ride malfunctioned or if there was an operator error. 
 
 
 
 The company didn't return calls for comment. 
 
 
 
 Bishop Mark Seitz issued the following statement Saturday, saying he was deeply saddened by the accident: 
 
 
 
 "When such a joyful event turns tragic the pain of the loss is even greater. The Diocese of El Paso deeply regrets this terrible loss. Words are incapable of expressing our sorrow at the death of this young girl. We know that no words will alleviate her family's pain but we will ask our merciful God to do through prayer what words are incapable of doing: bringing consolation in the midst of this sorrow." 
 
 Friends of Aguilar are planning on having a remembrance Monday and are encouraging everyone to wear red in honor of Sammie. 
 
 
 
 ||||| EL PASO, Texas - 
 
 The Ysleta Independent School District is "grief-stricken" over the death of Hanks High School student Samantha Aguilar, who was thrown from a carnival ride and killed Friday. 
 
 
 
 In a statement to Abc-7, Spokeswoman Patricia Ayala said: "It is with deep sadness that we confirm that Samantha Aguilar, a Hanks High School athlete and outstanding student, was thrown from a ride during a carnival on Friday and passed away. The Ysleta Independent School District Board of Trustees, staff, and students are grief-stricken over the tragic loss of Samantha. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with her family and the Hanks High School community. " 
 
 Aguilar and another teen were thrown from the "Sizzler" ride at the St. Thomas Aquinas "Dia De Los Ninos" carnival Friday. Aguilar's friend was treated for a bump on the head. Aguilar slammed into a metal barrier and was taken to Del Sol Medical Center where she died. El Paso Police tell Abc-7 they are still investigating the crash. 
 
 
 
 The District says grief counselors will be onsite at Hanks High School starting Monday to help students and staff as needed.
– The 16-year-old Texas girl who died at a hospital Friday night after a carnival-ride accident at a church festival is being recalled as a standout student-athlete who was in the top 10% of her class at Hanks High School in El Paso. Samantha Aguilar "was very sweet and kind to everybody, and a beautiful young lady," her track coach tells the El Paso Times. Indeed, the teen's Instagram bio reads, "My purpose is to make people happy! If life is as short as I am then I shall cherish every living moment." A school district spokeswoman tells KVIA that the school community is "grief-stricken over the tragic loss." Aguilar was part of a trio of girls on the Sizzler at the Dia de Los Ninos celebration at the St. Thomas Aquinas church. Aguilar and a 15-year-old girl were ejected from the spinning ride. Aguilar slammed into a metal barricade; the other teen was treated for a head injury, reports KVIA. A third girl was spared because she held tight to the ride's bars. The Rev. Ed Roden-Lucero, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas, says in a statement he is "shocked and saddened" by the tragedy, noting that the "Dia del Nino Fiesta was meant to celebrate God's blessing of family life and the great gift of children." The parish, he adds, will pay for Aguilar's funeral, and the Diocese of El Paso says it's cooperating with the police investigation. Media calls to Playtime Amusements, the owner of the ride now being investigated, have gone unanswered. (A father had to hang onto his son after a restraint apparently failed on a roller coaster.)