The father of a Jemison teen who jumped from an Interstate 65 overpass in Chilton County said the family is devastated by the loss and by the belief that bullying may have led to her death.

"I'm just so sad, you wouldn't believe," Jim Moore said today. "We knew she had been picked on some, but we thought it had been dealt with."

Moore said his 15-year-old daughter, Alex, was sometimes teased about her appearance, mainly her weight.

"At 15 years old, girls are starting to wear makeup and be interested in boys," Moore said. "She was going to be a little behind the others maybe. She was socially immature, but a great kid."

Alex, a student at Jemison High School, leapt onto Interstate 65 from a bridge near her home just before 7 a.m. Wednesday. She was pronounced dead on the scene, said Chilton County Coroner Randall M. Yeargan.

The southbound lane of I-65 was shut down for about two hours.

By today, a Facebook page, Tears for Alex, had been set up in her honor and drawn more than 1,000 "friends."

One of her friends from school wrote on the page that Alex was made fun of daily. "I wish someone would've told Alex that it's not what a lot of people say about you, it's about the few, close friends that you have."

Moore said his daughter struggled in recent years over several issues, including the death of her sister and a cousin, both in 2008. He said he still has unanswered questions about why Alex did what she did, but said he believes bullying played a role.

He now hopes her death can be a lesson to others.

"I strongly encourage parents to be involved, to talk to their kids and find out what's going," he said. "And, the adults in position of authority need to also be aware and to take action. We have to take things seriously today that we didn't used to, and this is one of them."

More on teen bullying:

Suicide of 15-year old highlights the need to tackle student bullying problems -- (Alabama School Journal)