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Chuck Crow / The Plain Dealer
Sean Egan embraces Brandon Davies as the Brunswick High School students mourn at the site of a fatal crash on Boston Road in Columbia Township on Sunday.
A car carrying five teenagers went airborne as it sped over railroad tracks early Sunday and crashed, killing the 18-year-old driver hours before his high school graduation and two of his passengers, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said.
A fourth teen, who was airlifted from the scene, died Monday at the Metrohealth Medical Center, the Plain Dealer reported.
Less than 13 hours after the crash, Brunswick High School students left empty seats covered with flowers at their graduation ceremony to remember driver Jeffrey Chaya and Kevin Fox, the student who died Monday.
"It was very sad," Superintendent Michael Mayell said after the commencement ceremony at the University of Akron. "There were a lot of tears."
The 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier was traveling at a high speed just after midnight when Chaya lost control in Columbia Township in northeast Ohio, troopers at the Elyria post said. The car went airborne and off the right side of the roadway, then swerved across the left side of the road, hit a ditch and tree, then flipped over, according to the troopers' report.
Chaya, front-seat passenger Blake Bartchak, 17, and back-seat passenger Lexi Poerner, 16, died in the crash, according to The Chronicle-Telegram newspaper.
Cleveland's Plain Dealer reported that Chaya and Bartchak were close friends, having first met in fourth grade when Chaya moved to the neighborhood. The two were together "constantly," Chaya's parents told the newspaper.
Fox, a back-seat passenger, was thrown from the car into a ditch, troopers said. He was flown to Cleveland Metro Health Medical Center where he died Monday.
The fifth person in the car, identified by troopers as 17-year-old Julia Romito, was taken to Southwest General Hospital. The Plain-Dealer said reported she was in stable condition in surgical intensive care.
Peggy Turbett / The Plain Dealer
Colin Curtis, left and Sobhit Haribakthi, seniors who graduated from Brunswick High School Sunday, grieve during a prayer service at St. Ambrose Church..
'Very popular students'
Fox and Chaya were called during the commencement, which included a moment of silence and comments about the tragic accident, Mayell said. More than 600 students graduated Sunday.
Grief counselors were available to meet with students at the high school later in the day. Memorial services were held Sunday evening at a church and a performing arts center.
"We want to allow the families to grieve in peace, and do whatever we can to get through this very tragic situation," Mayell said.
Troopers were still investigating the crash Sunday. They said the only confirmed factor was unsafe speed, although they were still calculating the car's estimated speed.
Peggy Turbett / The Plain Dealer
Angel Smith, left, Samantha Aborub, and Charlotte Sigel, friends of Lexi Poerner and graduates of Brunswick High School in 2010, mourn during the candelight service for Brunswick High School victims.
Mayell has known Poerner's family for years, and said the students who were killed were well known at school, taking part in school activities and volunteering.
"They were very popular students, very well-liked," Mayell said. "We've always been a very tight-knit community," he said. "It's one of those things that happens that I just don't get."
Chaya, a wide receiver on the Brunswick High football team, was the kind of teen with a lot of "best friends," his mother Paula Chaya told the Plain Dealer.
"He just loved being around his friends, and he had a ton of people who loved him," she told the newspaper.
Chaya had posted Saturday on his Twitter account: "Weird to think graduation is tomorrow time does fly big time."
On Saturday, graduating seniors at another northeast Ohio high school wore special red and black ribbons as a sign of unity and remembrance in the aftermath of the Feb. 27 Chardon school shootings that killed three students and wounded two others.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
What a tragedy. Sad to know a beautiful girl die. Hope the other girl recovers well.
Losing a loved one is, in my opinion, the most devastating experience in one's life. We all have children and we know how this feels. The good news is that there were no other parties involved in this tragic accident. If this accident was the result of a reckless driving, good thing they only took their own lives. I would say the same thing if these were my kids, my spouse and of course myself.
May the parents of these young kids have the strength to move on during this difficult time.
Teens, please believe this: SPEED KILLS!!!!! Slow down, don't text or talk on your phone or horse around with your friends while you're behind the wheel, and PAY ATTENTION TO DRIVING. Too many young people are killed in auto accidents because they aren't paying attention to the serious responsibility of driving a potential weapon of death...a car.
They were all totally drunk, no doubt. But hey, alcohol is good for you and totally harmless! Drink up! Bringing back Prohibition is the only answer.
Joe....YOU need to sober up.Those kids had more brains than you will ever hope to have. How long have you been hating your fellow man?
We've all done stupid things. We all thought we were invincible. Take your negative comments and keep them to yourselves.
My heart aches for the family & friends of these beautiful teens.
Send prayers not accusations.
No
No, to what? You possessing a brain or a heart?
my thoughts and prayers are with all of the friends and families that were affected by this car accident. it's never easy losing anyone, but especially when it's something as tragic as this. I know the pain that the friends of the victims are going through; recently my town has lost 3 teenagers in car accidents all within 3 months of each other. the community will pull together in ways you never thought possible.
To the friends and families: keep each other close to you in your time of need, as weird as this is going to come out...it makes it easier when you can look around and see all the love and support one community can have for these young lives that were lost. It breaks my heart that there are people going through the pain that I've gone through for 3 months...it does get easier.
To the graduating class of 2012 and the classes to come: slow down when you drive! speed is not something that is "cool", it's not something to fool around with. you all need to enjoy the time that you have with your friends and families...take lots of pictures when you attend events because pictures last a lifetime! make memories that can never be replaced or forgotten. don't let the drama of high school get to you..make the most of your high school years, they go by so much faster than you think.
“Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.”
May the ones lost in this tragic accident Rest In Peace and may the ones that are affected by this accident look at this as a lesson...it can happen to anyone, please don't think you are invincible...because in reality everyone knows they aren't.
"Really? Have you, like myself and essentially all adults, at some time or another, driven over the limit, ran through a stop light or sign, answered a call, or fiddled with the radio or a drink or a snack? We then all deserve the fate these young people received, and yet we're here, beneficiaries of grace or mercy or luck."
Yes, and I was in an accident thanks to my unsafe driving. The tragedy is the boy was speeding, and who knows what else. The expected result is an accident. Unfortunately these kids were hurt and/or killed. Fortunately they didn't hurt or kill others as a result of their negligence.
tryin not to sound unsympotheic but why was they flying down the road in the first place seems to me this kid and his friends love the speed and always took this road flying down it just this time they wanted to c how fast they could actually cross it bad idea
So Sad and Unnecessary.....Tragic accident....Speed Kills again and again.
To all those involved. May God wrap his arms around you and give you comfort right now. I pray for you, even though I do not know you. I know, because of my own loss, I can not give you anything right now that will ease the suffering, loss and pain you all are experiencing right now. Just know people are praying for you..
I lost my son 2 years ago in a tragic car accident. 2 years ago.....Please, just know, when I read or hear of another's loss, I am heartbroken.....I cry.......because I know and I feel...For the parents, I pray for you....You are starting a long journey....And I wish I could help you..
Please go to my Blog.....Waylon's Book, Endure the Race, 1990-2010 Maybe it will help at some point.....
Cindy
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Kids should never be allowed to own a car until they graduate from high school.
Nice looking jump : /
A very unfortunate thing to happen, my condolences go out to those hurt by this. But mainly I want to say lets not blame the driver, how many can say they never joy rode or been a little crazy with their cars. I instead blame speed limits. People dont slow down for safety, they do it to prevent getting a ticket. The limits arn't physically slowing us down, its all up to the driver, sometimes when you prohibit somthing people tend to do it more. You might think giving a younger driver 'no limits' might cause them to be more careless at first but they will learn much more quicker when they have the right to make a mistake. They will learn to drive to be safe not drive to be lawfull.
I have no sympathy for this. He made the choice to break the law. Parents always teach their kids to think before you act because the choices you make do not only affect you but the people around you. I feel bad for the parents and the friends of the kids as well as the passengers but I would be lying if I said I felt the slightest sympathy for the driver. There are always consequences to actions....some just happen to be harsher than others. Another life lesson unfortunately taught too late
You are such a warm, loving, and understanding creature......NOT!
Don't really care about being warm and loving. What I do understand is that people are idiots.
Tragic tho it may be, its hard to feel bad for any of the kids in the car.
First of all, the drive killed three people and seriously injured a 4th with his reckless driving. Had he survived, he would likely be spending a lot of time in jail. I'm sure some would argue that he got what he deserved in the crash.
Its also hard to feel too bad for the passengers because they got into a car with a person who was clearly not a safe driver. When I was in highschool, there was only a couple people I would drive with. Did I ever drive with my friend who had several speeding tickets a couple accidents? Not a chance. You have to know who you get into a car with, and if you decide to get into a car with a fast/unsafe driver... its your fault should something bad happen from that.
People like to ignore the facts when things like this happen, but the fact is all these kids had a chance to not end up a corpse on the side of the road. Instead they all made horrible choices that cost them their lives. The only "sad" thing about it is that its sad 5 young people would make such horrible decisions.
Go gnaw on a corpse, you are heartless
Teens don't have to be drunk to die in a car wreck. They are the worst drivers in the world and, until people admit this, they will continue to kill themselves. We all did stupid things as teens, but how many of us or our friends were killed or injured in car crashes?? It is our job as parents to make sure that our kids are safe drivers. I am so sick of reading about teen drivers that are killed each weekend because they were speeding. When is it going to end? I feel sorrow for the families, but I feel anger more. What a waste of human life!! Do something to put the fear of God into your kids. They should put a car that some teen wrecked on a flat bed in front of every high school in America. This is what can happen to you. Killing yourself or your friends is NOT a part of growing up.
Our local high school does this each year while the fire and ambulance cuts out the broken and bloody bodies( teens acting out the drama) we make it as real as possible and a student reads a letter out to their friends and family as if they were the one who died and what it was like to see the tears in their families life. In all the years they have done this it has never stopped the tears in my eyes that feel very real as I try to save the lives of those inside . There is rarely a dry eye.
Since this started many years ago they have cut down teen drinking and driving and other accidents by more that 80 percent. perhaps eevey school should do this . It is very emotional scene to see your friends being cut out of a car.
I know someone who saw friends cut out of a car.... that person went on to become an alcoholic who eventually got into a crash of their own. He was driving a truck and didn't need to be cut out and the decapitated family inside the other vehicle had to be scooped out with shovels.
One thing I've noticed in almost every case where a group of teens is in a serious/fatal car crash, is that the girls in the group are generally younger than the guys. This reflects the idea, held by teen girls, that boys their age or a year younger are "too immature." So they hang with older boys.
The one passenger, Lexi, is 16, while the boys were 17 and 18. That may sound like a minor difference, but there is a HUGE difference between 18 and 16, even 17 and 16. If 16 year old girls hung around boys 16, 15, they'd LESS LIKELY be passengers in fast-driven cars. This is because a 17 year old boy, especially 18 year old, is MORE LIKELY to be driving, and MORE LIKELY to have his own car and be speeding it around. How many 15 year old boys drive? Enough of this "boys my own age and younger are too immature" CRAP.
It is sad. On the other hand these dumbasses should've known better.Lightweights
Crawl back under a rock, chew your toenails. You probably think you can pick up your own turds by the clean end.
How terribly sad. My daughters boyfriend just graduated this week and I can imagine the heartache that we would have if it had happened to him or our daughter with their friends. My prayers go out to those affected by this tragedy. Such a loss to everyone when we lose the children that will make our world tomorrow.We will never know the contributions they may have made to society.
Ah...nevermind. Rednecks in Ohio. They're trash.
You are a worthless, hateful, bigoted creature...please, go away, the adults are talking here.
Be thankful Cheya was snuffed out before killing others or worse yet impregnating some poor girl with his imbecile seed. I.Q. tests need to be administered before dispensing licenses it seems.
The gene pool is probably also better off without those stupid enough to get into a car with that jerkoff as well.
I know the funeral home is better off. $$$$ KA-CHING! $$$$
You are the best living excuse for euthanasia or abortion. Go straight to hell, do not pass go, do not collect anything.
How long have you been hating young people? Have you stop molesting them yet?
Sammy Johns, it is sad you are not part of a funeral homes caseload.
In order for this car to go airborne at it's weight plus the weight of 5 people means he was driving extremely fast. From the looks of that road speed limit was probably 25-30 mph. What speed would it take to make a car get air time over a low rise in the road. Teens of this current generation need to be the once to police themselves. They should be taught to realize which of their peers are too reckless. They should be aware of the dangers and choose not to get into a car with someone who would take a risk like that. They should also not egg someone on "faster faster" to their deaths.
I drove onto a scene where a young man with 4 passengers lost control of his car on 41, a highway going through towns and cities in south FL. He was driving to fast. He could not stop for the red light and slid across the median as the light changed and on coming traffic began. He slammed head on into an SUV causing his car to spin and throwing his passengers out. I believe all died but a young female who happened to be pregnant. It is not a pretty sight to see bodies splayed all over the highway. Parents you have got to get control of your children. With this teen most likely at fault there is the potential for lawsuits for wrongful death. You are just as responsible for giving your child free reign of a car that ends up being a weapon.
Sir, I am sorry to tell you if you go 25-30 over those tracks you will catch air. Those tracks are extremely dangerous, as well as numerous other tracks in and around that area. I believe the speed limit on Boston Rd is 45mph. There used to be a stop sign at the tracks but no longer is. He was going too fast and his tragic misjudgment resulted in the loss of 4 people, whose families will never be the same. Parents can give their children all the right tools yet the child can still make the wrong decision. Unfortunately one wrong decision can be the end.
Graduation day is one I never forgot and mine occurred in 1978. I now try to imagine all the life these kids will not be experiencing for some reckless choices. I don't admonish them, even if they were foolish because I was one of those reckless kids too. To think of all the hot-rodding and carelessness I exacted on our roads and highways makes me shiver when that thought leads into what could have happened to me, my passengers and other unsuspecting motorists.
It's easy to dismiss this tragedy as kids being kids. It's also difficult to justify letting them have those experiences which I found thrilling - in this case the thrill of speeding. I'm not saying any of this is right or that they had the right to be speeding. It is, after all, breaking the law. Those laws are in place to protect us all from the risk that speeding exposes one to.
This is one right of passage that too many kids get the impression that they can get away with, because for every tragedy, there must be hundreds of thousands examples of kids getting away with it - like myself. I don't condone it and now that my nieces and nephew are of age I always have in the back of my mind what I got away with. I also beg God to keep them safe not just from themselves but also from other careless drivers out there.
It's a terrible shame these kids won't be able to experience the ups and downs of life, learning from hard knocks and gaining confidence in oneself. They won't experience the joy of independence, marriage and parenthood. I cannot begin to describe the guilt I feel for the risks I took as well as the feeling of gratitude that I didn't get anyone injured.
All my moving violations have been paid, my license revoked several times - then reinstated, and even did my due for a DUI arrest I had in 1996. I've been clean for nearly 8 years and yet all of that pales to the realization that some kids from Ohio are gone because fate dealt them a meaner hand than I and their friends and families will carry grief until their final days.
We need to find a way to keep kids from doing this. We need to be more involved with their lives no matter how well behaved they are, how accomplished they are, and no matter how much they recoil at the idea that their freedom to do as they wish is a RESPONSIBILITY and not a right.
What an unthinkable horror for their parents. I'm imagining the graduation celebrations that were planned, the gifts that were bought, cards with money in them and hopes and plans for the future...gone, just like that. The pain must be unbearable, I'm so sorry they have to deal with this and I hope they find the strength somehow.
When will teens learn that speeding can kill?????? Probably never since they have the mindset of "It won't happen to me". Once again another senseless tragedy being reported that could have been avoid. Will it be the last...sadly to say NO!!!! Condolences to the families for the loss of their children.