4 local teenagers killed in car crash near my house!

[Terry Sumner]

Around 5:30 this afternoon a mile or so from my house, 4 teenagers from our high school were killed in a one car accident. One was a 15 year old girl. A fifth one is also hurt badly. On Rte 201 near the entrance to the State Forest, there is a small hill or knoll in the road. I've been over it a thousand times myself. It's one of those knolls where if you go fast enough you can get that funny feeling of momentary weightlessness in your stomach as you go over the peak. I know as I've done it myself many times in my younger days. Tragically I believe that's what these kids were doing. More than likely they were travelling 80 or 90 mph and lost control. They hit a tree sideways and destroyed the car. 3 teenagers dead on scene, 4th died at the hospital, don't know about the 5th. My Trooper son is the investigating Trooper on scene. My other son is in the Fire Dept. and was there also. Very tragic... gonna be a sad Christmas for a lot of people in my town this year! My heart goes out to these families and my community.

[John Teresi]

That is so sad........my heart goes out to the families that lost a child.....man that hurt`s.

[Agent G]

Some things never change. We had six get wiped out the same way, the driver was a neighbor of mine.

God Bless them.

G

[Wagoneer81]

What a bad way to start the holiday season... My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their families and friends and to the responders whose have to 'manage the aftermath' so to speak. I spent several years in Fire/EMS back in the '90's, in a small community and I know things like this aren't easy on anybody. You will all be in my prayers.

Edited December 8, 2010 by Wagoneer81

[Peter Lombardo]

I just hate to hear about when the "folly of youth" gets innocent teens in trouble. I will bet that most of us can look back to when we were young, invincible and immortal and did crazy dangerous stunts. Many of us survived those times just by the "grace of God", unfortunately, some are not that lucky. My heart goes out to the parents, family and friends of those kids. This truly is heartbreaking. I thanked God every night when my children, during those teenage years, came home healthy. So sorry to hear this before and during the Holidays.

[junkman1153]

I always hate to hear about things like that.here in north carolina there has been a rash of fatal accidents lately. last new years day there was a crash that killed 4 football players from the same school . way back in 1971 i was working for a wrecker service that was rescue equipped, there weren't many rescue squads back then.fire departments and wreckers were who got you out of your car. the scene that has haunted me occurred christmas eve 1971. the call came in as a multiple fatality, when we arrived there was a blue 1964 chevy impala wagon laying on it's roof. it had struck the end of a bridge and rolled . the road was packed ice and snow. it was cold, clear , full moon dead silent. on the path to where the car stopped was suitcases ,christmas presents, and 4 covered bodies two adults,two little children. i couldn't ever forget that sight. felt like a poster should have been made of it.if it made one person slow down or not drive when tired. they wouldn't have died so needlessly. i always thought that would be my worst christmas till my granddaughter died december 23 1998,just 8 days old.i feel for anybody who loses somebody dear at this time of the year

[Starliner Kustoms]

Terry,

Just heard about an hour ago the 5th one died at the hospital. So sad.

[charlie8575]

As we've had a large number of teens join us here lately...

Guys- let this be a lesson to each of you. We don't need any untimely departures from any of you. You each have a long, full, and (hopefully) productive life ahead of you. Don't cut it short by doing something stupid or irrevocably dangerous. There is no return. There are no second chances if your behavior is poorly-judged enough.

Please- think before you drive and don't give in to your friends trying to egg you on into doing something foolish while in the car. Think of the horror and grief your family and friends will be struck with.

Terry, G, Dan Baker, Chris Mooney, and at least two or three other members of this board work in public safety. They'll be able to tell you about all the things they've seen over the years. Heed their warnings.

David G. and Christian Pamp are both funeral directors. They'll be able to tell you about the aftermath. It isn't pretty.

I can tell you about the devestation a school faces with the sudden loss of a student. So struck with horror are the students, that school all but stops.

Be the mature, intellgent young men I know you're all capable of being.

Charlie Larkin

[Terry Sumner]

Guys,

Thanks for all the good words... Bernie...the 5th teen is still in critical condition as of 6 AM this morning, He was transferred by Lifestar Helicoptor to Yale-New Haven Hospital and is being treated there. The town is having a candlelight vigil this evening at the gazebo in the park. All 5 are students at Griswold High School (my old school!) One was a sophomore, 3 were juniors and one was a senior. This small town is devastated!

[Terror]

Sad,sad thing when this happens.Two of my best friends died in car crashes on 2 different holidays.Those thoughts just don't go away.We should all just slow down a little and enjoy life while you still have time.What can anyone say?Very sad.

[crazyjim]

Very tragic news, Terry, but very nice that the town is getting together for a vigil. Hopefully the families will know that there are people who care about them and their loss. Stay warm tonight.

[Greg Cullinan]

I am really sorry to hear this.I still remember my first friend dying as a kid,it was an auto accident.It was devastating.

We were 13 and he had stolen a corvette and rolled it.Unfortunately these types of accidents with multiple teens dying is almost common in my area.

I do believe it is a law that junior licensed drivers are not to have more than passengers. May be wrong but it is my rule with my kids.

As a parent who has an 18 yr. old driving and a 16 yr. old in training there is nothing more serious than driving habits.

[rssschris]

You can never look at a holliday the same after losing a kid. My daughter was killed by a drunk driver the day before my wife & my aneversary. Our aneversary just dosn`t seem important anymore. It`s been 10 years now & the hollidays are still tough, I still feel quilty when Iam having a good time or laughing about something. Even though we still have 5 sons & 6 grandkids, life will never be the same. My heart & prayers go out to the parents & famillys of these kids. I know that their lives are changed forever.

Chris Downs

[txdieseldog]

Charlie's right. Those of us here that are in public safety could tell of some serious stories. Been a Peace Officer for 11+ yrs and am finally not on the streets for the holidays. However, I can say the same as Charlie about the schools because my office is in one.

Terry, thank your boys for me for their part in all this and my prayers go out to those in need.

Be safe all.

Barry

[davyou5]

This is sad news , I myself have done some stupid things in my days, but never attempted anything like that, at least not going that fast, Anyway my thoughts go out to all who are suffering this tragedy this holiday season.

[CAL]

I always have a hard time hearing about stuff like this...

My best friend's daughter, who I watched grow up, was killed earlier this year. A very high rate of speed and alcohol were contributing factors. She hit a 1-Ton truck parked in a driveway and ended upside down in the front yard: in a residential 25mph zone.

It was absolutely devastating.

[Dingo]

Man that's tough, we had a bad crash in my home town two days ago when two young men where killed when the car they where in hit a tree as well this crash happened in broad daylight at 8am in the morning and the car was so badly wrecked the emergency people could tell what it was until it was pulled from the tree and someone found a name plate enbedded in the tree, the car was a Nissan Skyline Twin Turbo and according to the driver's license he should not have been driving it as we have a law here that prevents or should prevent an under 25 from those types of cars.

Dingo

[sobpinstriping]

Last year on Dec. 5th I was driving home after work and a 21 year old girl pulled out if front of me and the guy in the other lane, I missed her but the other guy t-boned her. I ran to her car and almost got hit myself due to other people not Evan slowing down, the poor girl was bleeding real bad and ending up dieing a few minutes later. It has been hard for the last few days remembering that and how sad it was. The guy driving the car that struck her had no injuries and was physically ok.

A few days after the accendet I found out that a friend of mine was friends with the girl.

So drive safe.

sorry not trying to hi-jack the thread but I felt that I should share.

thanks

mat

[niteowl7710]

I will temporarily put my old public safety hat back on for a second (vollie FF for several years) for this quick MCM PSA. Watch how you drive around your kids. Because whether you want to admit it or not, how you drive is how your kids will drive. If you road rage, speed, talk/text on the phone, roll stop signs & lights, tailgate, or don't use your seat belt then the chances are your kid(s) are going to see the behavior, find it "normal" to drive that way and develop it as their driving style as well. I refuse to ride in a car with my wife's step-mom because I don't feel safe they way she drives (which is saying something coming from someone who teaches people to drive 18-Wheelers from scratch!) She taught my wife to drive, and my wife for several years she drove the same way(until a few close calls with the PSP and my subsequent "told ya so's"). She has slowly realized that driving like a maniac doesn't get you there any faster.

Ultimately beyond knowing where our kids are, and who their with, and treating our own kids driving as a PRIVILEGE not a RIGHT we can't control what happens. You can only protect them so much before they wind up being all weird and living in your basement when they're 30. It's sad when these types of accidents happen around the Holidays or at Prom/Graduation, but the fact is they happen all year long. But far too many parents see a driver's license as a way to free themselves from having to deal with their kids. They don't have to run them around anywhere anymore. I can't tell you how many times I've overheard the State Police when contacting the parents on a minor accident to come get the kid, and where do you want the car towed, the parents had absolutely NO CLUE where that kid was at the time.

Pennsylvania has adopted a new graduated licensing system that governs how many teens can be in a car, and even what hours someone under 18 can be behind the wheel, but the police can patrol EVERYONE, and it comes down again to parents PARENTING their kids, and not trying to be their best friends.

[Guest Johnny]

That is sad to hear! Something like that back when I was in HS and I lost a good friend. When you think about the stuff we all seemed to do when we were kids it sends a shiver up my spine!

I survived a roll over as a pasenger in a 55 Chevy convertible. Just lucky the cornfirld was soft as I was rolled between the trunk and the ground! Luckily we all survived with only one serious injury, one of the boys(center on the basketball team) lost an arm.

These types of accidents are what caused me to leave my job as a Paramedic! There were a bunch of fatal accidents involving kids one years the last resulting in a decapitation of a 15 year old girl.that had spent many weekends at our house with our daughter. I lived 3/4 of a mile from the site and was the first to arrive at the scene.

I was done after that one.

[imatt88]

What a shame. Condolences to the families. No parent should ever have to lose a child

[Bridgebuster]

As we've had a large number of teens join us here lately...

Guys- let this be a lesson to each of you. We don't need any untimely departures from any of you. You each have a long, full, and (hopefully) productive life ahead of you. Don't cut it short by doing something stupid or irrevocably dangerous. There is no return. There are no second chances if your behavior is poorly-judged enough.

Please- think before you drive and don't give in to your friends trying to egg you on into doing something foolish while in the car. Think of the horror and grief your family and friends will be struck with.

Terry, G, Dan Baker, Chris Mooney, and at least two or three other members of this board work in public safety. They'll be able to tell you about all the things they've seen over the years. Heed their warnings.

David G. and Christian Pamp are both funeral directors. They'll be able to tell you about the aftermath. It isn't pretty.

I can tell you about the devestation a school faces with the sudden loss of a student. So struck with horror are the students, that school all but stops.

Be the mature, intellgent young men I know you're all capable of being.

Charlie Larkin

Amen, Charlie. Young folks, NEVER be ashamed to ask someone driving stupidly to pull over and let you out. If they call you "chicken" or "wuss" or whatever, just say "I guess so". Don't argue, just make them stop to let you out. I grew up in Atlanta and have lost a bunch of friends in High School in just plain stupid car wrecks. About a year ago, 2 kids from the HS where my kids went died in a crash about a mile from my house. They were late for school and driving entirely too fast. Really sad is that they were brother and sister.

[Terry Sumner]

As usual when these things happen....more info comes out. Turns out the driver of this tragedy did not even HAVE his driver's license yet...he only had a Learner's Permit. In Conn. when driving under a Learner's Permit, the only person who can be in the car is a certified instructor or a parent or legal guardian. The car was registered to the young girl's mother. She turned out to be 16, not 15 and she actually had a driver's license. The car was registered to her mother. But she can't have passengers either. Seems they just took the car for a joyride, so to speak. Some joy eh?

Teenagers: Those laws are there to keep you safe from things like this. Please, please obey them! What a useless waste of young lives!

[junkman1153]

when i think about the far too many chances i took and the crashes i walked away from i can only count myself lucky. when i started driving a wrecker ,as i mentioned before we were rescue equipped,did i begin to come face to face with just how lucky i really was.i helped to cut several classmates out of crashes. including a fatal crash that was a car i sold to the boy it was my old 64 falcon sprint he went into a cloverleaf too fast either the body sat down on the left rear tire or an air shock blew he rolled the car several times was thrown out and run over. it took along time to get over that.

[lordairgtar]

I've seen kids and adults texting and driving, eating cereal out of a bowl, reading a paper or book...all while driving. In fact, Wisconsin just passed a law making texting illegal in moving vehicles. Yet a girl had an accident while texting the very next day in these parts.