Milwaukee basketball star killed in motorcycle crash: The unique way friends are remembering her

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Friends and family members are remembering 25-year-old Destinee Blue. She's a Milwaukee basketball star who was killed in a motorcycle crash last Saturday night, June 28th.

Police say the motorcycle was being operated by 40-year-old Anthony Jones of Milwaukee. 25-year-old Destinee Blue was a passenger on the motorcycle.

Destinee Blue

Police say the motorcycle, headed northbound on N. Sherman Avenue struck a vehicle making a left turn onto W. Auer.

Both Jones and Blue were ejected from the motorcycle.

Both were pronounced dead at the scene.

The Medical Examiner's report says the bike was at a stop light at W. Burleigh Street and N. Sherman Boulevard -- and when the light turned green, Jones accelerated to a speed in excess of 75 miles-per-hour -- weaving in and out of traffic, heading northbound on N. Sherman Boulevard.

The driver of a vehicle was heading southbound on N. Sherman Boulevard and was making an eastbound turn onto W. Auer Avenue when the two vehicles collided.

Destinee Blue's high school basketball coach hopes to establish a scholarship in her honor. It will benefit young, female athletes at Vincent High School in Milwaukee -- where Blue played basketball.

But first -- Destinee Blue's family needs help paying for her funeral.

"It just brings tears to my eyes. I`m devastated from it," Marquis Hines, Blue's coach at Vincent High School said.

Hines remembers Blue as an upbeat, positive athlete who constantly rallied her team -- often to victory.

"We won two state championships under Destinee Blue," Hines said.

"It`s just tragic to me that she lost her life at such a young age. And she was on such a great path. Doing positive stuff in this community," Blue's friend Asia Rhines-Malone said.

To keep her spirit alive, Hines and others are planning a memorial basketball game -- to be played July 15th at Vincent High School.

"We`re going to have a boys game and a girls game. It`s what Destinee wanted. It`s not a fundraiser - it`s just on her behalf," Hines said.

Donations will help Blue's family cover her funeral costs. Blue will be laid to rest on Monday, July 7th.

"Whatever you want to do for the family - that`s up to you. But I know Destinee would love this," Hines said.

Hines says the memorial basketball game won't be just a one-time thing. It's planned as an annual tradition to establish a scholarship in Blue's honor.

"I just...I`m going to miss her. I`m going to miss her," Rhines-Malone said.

After graduating from Vincent High School, Blue attended Cleveland State on a full scholarship.

Recently, she had been playing basketball in an international league.

Her funeral will be held on Monday, July 7th at the Abundant Faith Church of Integrity on Good Hope Road at 11:00 a.m.

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