"UPDATED 9:25 p.m. MIDDLETOWN -- A fiery pickup truck crash Saturday near Middletown killed four young people, injured two others and left many with ties to Lincoln Community High School shocked and grieving.
“Here are these kids, who should just be enjoying one of the best parts of their lives, and then something terrible like this happens,” said Pat Hake, a physical and driver’s education teacher and baseball coach who knew most of the victims as students.
A pickup truck was westbound on 1300th Street when it went over Polecat Hill and struck trees near where the road turns south to become 250th Avenue, officials said Saturday. The accident was discovered about 11:29 p.m. Friday.
“As he was going down the hill, the truck skidded and sideswiped a set of trees at the base of the hill. The truck apparently burst into flames,” said Middletown Fire Chief Jason Buss.
“When we got the call, the truck was already fully engulfed,” he said.
Saturday night, tears flowed from more than 100 friends and family who gathered for a prayer service at Jefferson Street Christian Church, Lincoln, to remember the four young people killed in the accident.
At times, the sound of sobbing filled the meeting room used by church junior and senior high youth groups. Most of the students who knew LCHS senior Ross Conrady, sophomore Katie Carpentier and graduate Chris McGlasson came to the prayer service to share their grief.
“Hug each other and cry together — that’s what tonight is about,” Youth Pastor Brian Medaris said, calling the church space a communal living room for those affected by the tragedy.
Lincoln High seniors Cody Leevey, Amy Ramlow and Dustin Elmer shared memories of their close friend, Conrady.
“We were the farm kids. Ross was all about the country stuff — fishing, playing in the mud, hunting. We raised pigs,” said Ramlow.
“There was never a dull moment with him,” said Elmer, who was Conrady’s friend since kindergarten.
Leevey remembered his friend as a storyteller who loved to put a lot of ketchup on his food.
The three last saw their classmate at a basketball game Friday night.
Cindy Smith is a church volunteer who described 15-year-old Carpentier as “the life of the party. She was outgoing, fun and friendly.”
The name of the fourth person killed was not available Saturday, but it is believed she is not from the area.
Injured in the crash were Zach Rickord and Clark Schoonover, described as LCHS graduates attending Springfield College of Illinois in Springfield. Rickord was listed in critical condition Saturday night at Memorial Medical Center, Springfield, and Schoonover was there in fair condition, a nursing supervisor said.
Dean Langdon, superintendent of the Lincoln high school district, earlier Saturday said the victims were all “outstanding kids of good character, all from very solid families.”
He said the school will have counselors, including representatives of various faith communities, available Tuesday when students return from the three-day Presidents Day weekend.
“The school is doing all that we can to help the students deal with this crisis,” Langdon said. “This is a very close-knit community, and we will all pull together in a difficult time like this.”
Hake was at the Springfield hospital Saturday night to comfort Schoonover — a former Lincoln baseball player — and his family.
“I was the one who told Clark (who had a broken collar bone and leg) what had happened to the others. He took it as well as could be expected,” Hake said.
“I knew all of the kids very well,” he said. “It’s really just a tragedy.”
Hake said the community is pulling together in the mourning period.
“Some of the students have made memorials of flowers and the like, doing what they can to deal with it,” Hake said.
Springfield College in Illinois probably will have a memorial service next week for the victims, said Susie Doddek, director of advancement for the campus in Springfield. Rickord and Schoonover and the unidentified person who was killed are believed to be students there. The college will wait for official confirmation first.
The college will have grief counselors on hand Monday, she said.
Meanwhile the accident remains under investigation, Logan County sheriff's police said.
County Coroner Bob Thomas’ office and the sheriff’s department released few details Saturday, saying the accident remains under investigation. He did confirm two males and two females were killed, and two males survived.
Middletown and New Holland fire and rescue squads, the Logan County sheriff’s police, state police and various area ambulance services were called to the scene, Thomas said.
Jim Ensign, Bridget Flynn and Roger Miller contributed to this report."
http://pantagraph.com/articles/2008/02/17/news/doc47b730508f0f2952425922.txt
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