It could have been me.

The story of 17-year-old Lily Burk, murdered while running an errand for her mother, has dominated the LA Times Web site since Friday night, when she first disappeared.

And every time I see an update — "Transient charged in death of teen," "Collision of 2 L.A. worlds may have led to girl's death" — or a Tweet, an icicle of fear and recognition sends stabbing shivers down my spine.

I see myself in her.

And I can't help thinking, It could have been me.

She was just two years younger than me and my friends, looking toward a bright future and college career: she helped the homeless and scored high enough on her PSATs to become a National Merit Scholar.

But when Burk drove her black Volvo to Southwestern Law School on Friday, July 24 to pick up papers for her professor mother to grade, that all ended.

On her way out of the law building, a box of papers under her arm, she allegedly met transient and drug abuser Charles Samuel, recently arrested and on leave from a drug treatment facility.

Minutes later, Samuel drove away in the same Volvo, Burk in the passenger seat.

He allegedly forced Burk to try her card repeatedly — and unsuccessfully — at ATMs around the city, even forcing Burk to call her parents and ask how to perform the transaction, LAPD officials said.

On the phone, she told her parents she needed the money to buy shoes. They told her to come home. She didn't.

The next morning, a worker at an Alameda Street business found Burk's battered body sprawled across the Volvo's passenger seat.

• • •

I've already gotten warnings from my mom ("don't go anywhere alone," "don't use ATMs") and my concerned friends ("this is what happens when you live in LA!") who've seen the story.

I've heard the warnings before in the wake of other tragic teenage stories. I usually listen, but feel no connection with the names. With the Burk case, though, I've felt it.

It could have been me.

You can't be a bleeding heart and be a crime reporter, because the deluge of tragedy would just be too much to handle.

And during a semester on the USC cops beat, after covering arrests, burglaries, LAPD initiatives and the emotional shock of a fatal hit-and-run, I hardened myself against the tear-jerking stories we read every day on the news.

But there's something about this story I just can't shake.

Instead of Lily, I keep thinking, it could have been any of my USC friends, any of their families or friends.

It could have been my sister.

It could have been me.

Everyone, please be aware of your surroundings tonight, and every night. Be safe.

(photo credit: Los Angeles Times)