By Alice Haymond

Kelsey Sorrell had a contagious smile and loved kids.

“The kids loved being around her; she loved being around them,” said her uncle, David Ross. She frequently babysat his 2- and 5-year-old children.

Sorrell, an undecided freshman, was killed in a car accident, driving home after babysitting her cousins at Ross’ house Jan 2. She was 18.

Sorrell was home in Erlanger, Ky., for winter break and was about to enter northbound Interstate 75 from U.S. 42 in Boone County when her car hit a patch of ice and slid into oncoming traffic, Ross said. She died when the car was struck on the driver’s side.

Ross said his niece was a “social butterfly” and full of life.

“Everywhere she went, everyone knew who she was,” he said.

Sorrell graduated from Notre Dame Academy in 2007, and most of her high school friends also went to UK, Ross said.

She came home fairly frequently on the weekends, he said, but she loved UK. She had wanted to go there since she was a little girl; her dad is a huge UK sports fan.

She is survived by her parents, Steve and Terri Sorrell; brothers Tyler and Trevor Sorrell; and grandparents, Tom and Ruth Sorrell, and Chester Dreyer.

The visitation was held yesterday in Fort Wright, Ky., at St. Agnes Church from 4 to 7 p.m. Services followed.