I'm leaving DeviantART. I don't draw or write anymore. Maybe I'll come back when I'm inspired again. Also, everyone wear your seatbelt and don't pack more people in a car then its supposed to hold. Don't say anything bad about these kids because they went to my school.

POSTED: Friday, June 5, 2009
UPDATED: 2:42 pm EDT June 6, 2009
I-295 wreck
An SUV carrying nine students flipped several times, killing three teens.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Three Ed White High Schools students died and six other young people were hospitalized after an SUV carrying all nine flipped several times and crashed on Interstate 295 Friday morning.

The Florida Highway Patrol said the victims were all teenagers headed for a day at the beach rather than attending the last day of school when a rear tire blew out and the driver lost control.

Duval County school officials confirm that two ninth-grade students and one 11th-grader died in the wreck.

The FHP said all nine victims were in a Ford Explorer that overturned while northbound just before New Kings Road about 8:30 a.m.

"We believe the left rear tire may have separated -- we're still investigating that," FHP Lt. Bill Leeper said. "The driver lost control, traveled over onto the shoulder of the roadway, struck a light pole."

Video Reports:
Accident Scene | Shands-Jacksonville
Ed White High School | Witness Speaks

According to Leeper, everyone except the driver -- 15-year-old Brandon Hodges -- was ejected from the SUV. The FHP believes Hodges was the only person wearing a seat belt.

One victim was one found 200 feet from the vehicle.

Five people were airlifted to Shands-Jacksonville Medical Center, where two died and the other three were in critical condition. Three other victims were transported to Baptist Medical Center.


VICTIMS OF TRAGEDY ON I-295

John Kiely 15 Died at scene
Kimber Krebbs 15 Died at Shands
Dennis Stout 17 Died at Shands
Brandon Hodges 15 Driver - at Baptist with minor injuries
Rebecca Pilkinton 16 Front-seat passenger - critical condition at Shands
Jimmy Gracia 15 Critical condition at Baptist
Erin Hurst 15 Critical condition at Shands
Timothy Adam 15 Critical condition at Shands
Shannon Broome 15 Serious condition at Baptist


At Ed White High, some students said they got calls and text messages about the wreck. School officials said some students in a car driving in front of the SUV witnessed the crash and they showed up at the school in tears.

"Everybody was just crying," student Toni Meyers said. "They had guidance counselors out -- students wanted to talk about it."

"I haven't stopped thinking about it yet. It's just in my head," said student William Lawson, who witnessed the crash. "I saw them flip like once or twice, and the pole fell."

He was with other teens in the car in front of the SUV on 295 as the students headed toward the beach.

"I walked up and saw everybody just laying there, and I felt like I couldn't do anything. I just felt bad for everybody just seeing everybody just laying and seeing people dying," Lawson said.

He said he ran to his friend Krebbs and told her, "It's gonna be OK. It's gonna be all right." The 15-year-old girl didn't survive.

Duval County schools spokeswoman Jill Johnson said grief counselors were rushed to campus to speak with students before early dismissal on the last school day of the year. She said counselors would be available at the school again on Monday beginning at 8 a.m., which is a post-planning day for teachers.

There will also be a prayer service and vigil for the victims of the crash from 6 p.m. to midnight Saturday at Real Life Christian Fellowship on Lennox Avenue on the Westside.

"My heart and my prayers go out to each and every parent," said parent Reba Brown as she came to pick up her daughter, who knows at least three of the victims. "I hope God can lift them all."

Students Killed In 295 Ax -- Kelly, Krebbs, Stout
John Kiely, Kimber Krebs and Dennis Stout were killed Friday when an SUV's tire blew and the vehicle flipped three times.

Principal James Clark -- who is retiring in a few days -- had to notify the student body and faculty of the wreck. He said the victims were all good students -- several of them on the honor roll.

"It's a tragedy any time we lose a kid," Clark said. "Two of these were ninth-graders; one was and 11th-grader. I knew most of them -- knew them by sight or name; talked to them almost every day. It's certainly going be there -- that memory -- for a long time."

Emergency room doctors at Shands said all five victims they received suffered from severe trauma. The three who survived were rushed into surgery.

"When we have moments to step back and reflect. It's extremely difficult," Dr. Miren Schinco said. "I had to talk to a family -- that was extremely difficult. I have children of this age, and they went to the beach with their friends."

All northbound lanes of I-295 northbound lanes were closed at New Kings Road for nearly an hour. All lanes reopened by 9:45 a.m., but traffic remained slow much of the morning while FHP investigators conducted their investigation and a tow truck loaded up the damaged vehicle.

The FHP said charges were pending against the driver because he was driving on a learner's permit and no adult was in the car. Troopers said the investigation into the accident in ongoing, including the fact that there were more people in the vehicle than it was designed to carry.

According to the Ford Motor Company, Explorers seat only seven passengers. Troopers said they believe at least some of those injured were sitting in the very back, cargo area of the vehicle.


Article found here [link]


Please pray for the kids and families involved.






Want to keep up with me?
kh.fangirl@yahoo.com
howell_m@live.com
[link]
[link]