Last night...
...there was a car accident here in Georgia that killed 3 teenagers. My heart just breaks for the family and friends who are grieving today.
Sadly, most of us know, or knew, someone who died when we were teenagers. We think of them occasionally and wonder where they would be now if they had lived.
When I was in high school, I lost a friend in a car accident the night bfeore a Speech and Debate tournament. There had been a basketball game the night before and 3 of the kids who were on the Speech team went to the game. On the way home, they were hit by a semi as they crossed Highway 83 in Bensenville.
2 of the kids survived but one of them died after being in a coma for a few days. His name was Dave Daniels and he was one of the kindest, most gentle young men that you would ever have the pleasure of meeting. He was a year behind me and I was 17 so he must have been 16 when he died.
He and his sister, Elaine, would sing Simon and Garfunkle songs at all of the talent shows that the school put on. He strummed his guitar and sang along with Elaine. It was amazing to see siblings get along as well as those two did. Especially considering the way my brother and I bickered.
They were both very kind kids so I know that their parents were wonderful people. It takes wonderful parents to raise such decent children. Dave wanted to be a marine biologist when he grew up. The young man had already bred a new breed of fish all by himself. He was an A student and if he had lived, I'm sure that he would have left this world a better place.
As it is, he did just that. I can't be the only person who was ever touched by Dave's kindness, I'm sure that others remember him lovingly as well.
I really have no point right now...I just wanted to remember a young man who left this life 30 years ago. I'm sure his family thinks of him often...I hope they know that he touched others as well and that he is not forgotten.
It's so sad when young life is extinguished far too early. I'm sure there's a reason for it but I sure don't know what it is. So, when I hear about things like the wreck that took 3 young people last night...I think of Dave. How many of you remember someone who you lost far too soon?
I'm afraid that most of us do.
Meg
...there was a car accident here in Georgia that killed 3 teenagers. My heart just breaks for the family and friends who are grieving today.
Sadly, most of us know, or knew, someone who died when we were teenagers. We think of them occasionally and wonder where they would be now if they had lived.
When I was in high school, I lost a friend in a car accident the night bfeore a Speech and Debate tournament. There had been a basketball game the night before and 3 of the kids who were on the Speech team went to the game. On the way home, they were hit by a semi as they crossed Highway 83 in Bensenville.
2 of the kids survived but one of them died after being in a coma for a few days. His name was Dave Daniels and he was one of the kindest, most gentle young men that you would ever have the pleasure of meeting. He was a year behind me and I was 17 so he must have been 16 when he died.
He and his sister, Elaine, would sing Simon and Garfunkle songs at all of the talent shows that the school put on. He strummed his guitar and sang along with Elaine. It was amazing to see siblings get along as well as those two did. Especially considering the way my brother and I bickered.
They were both very kind kids so I know that their parents were wonderful people. It takes wonderful parents to raise such decent children. Dave wanted to be a marine biologist when he grew up. The young man had already bred a new breed of fish all by himself. He was an A student and if he had lived, I'm sure that he would have left this world a better place.
As it is, he did just that. I can't be the only person who was ever touched by Dave's kindness, I'm sure that others remember him lovingly as well.
I really have no point right now...I just wanted to remember a young man who left this life 30 years ago. I'm sure his family thinks of him often...I hope they know that he touched others as well and that he is not forgotten.
It's so sad when young life is extinguished far too early. I'm sure there's a reason for it but I sure don't know what it is. So, when I hear about things like the wreck that took 3 young people last night...I think of Dave. How many of you remember someone who you lost far too soon?
I'm afraid that most of us do.
Meg
posted by Meg Kelso | 4:59 PM
5 Comments:
Oh yes, I remember Joanne Davis...she was struck by a car while standing at a bus stop. My other friend Kathy was standing beside her and of course you can imagine that Kathy was freaked out for a long time after that.
Joanne was spending the night with Kathy so she was at a bus stop 8 blocks from where her brother's bus stop was (with me and my friends) so a guy named Kenneth drove down to our bus stop and told Kevin that his sister was just hit by a car and before any of us could say anything Kevin took off running...Kenneth turned his car around and caught up to Kevin and told him to get in, he'd take him to her.
She had severe injuries and internal bleeding, but was still alive when Kevin got there. We were told that she was begging Kevin to help her. She died in his arms.
What's even more sad about that is Kevin's father and two older brother's were killed just three-years earlier in a car accident, so Kevin adored and doted on his mother and sister because they were all he had left; Kevin and Joanne had a wonderful sibling relationship; the whole situation was just so sad and heartbreaking.
Joanne was only 18; she was graduating that summer and had her whole life ahead of her. That was 25-years ago.
I hear ya Meg, the one that comes to my mind is my classmate Keith Branch who died in April 1984.
16 years old, big sweet kid, flipped his VW bug less than three miles from home. And then hit by an oncoming car. he survived the intial accident, and another classmate was trying to free him from his car and then.......
He was a volunteer firefighter and his station was the one that had to cut him out of his car. I have a son who is 13 now and will be on the road in a couple of years, and I talk about the "young and dumb" factor, I just hope he listens.
My sympathies are with the families of your young folks who met their sad end.
Yep...I'm sure we all remember someone. But we still take chances as kids.
So, I do understand the fear of being the parent of a few teenagers and watching them drive away. The Lord and I became ever so close when my kids first learned to drive.
Young and dumb is certainly a problem. And it's a problem for the kids you least expect it from. The smart ones think they can handle it...after all, they're smart kids.
I still worry and I cringe whenever I drive past an accident.
These 3 kids weren't driving recklessly...just carelessly. AND...there should have been a light at that intersection. They actually put one up as a result of the accident that killed Dave.
He, Jim Basso and Dan Lorek were driving west on Third Street and apparently didn't see the truck.
It freaks me out to think about.
Meg,
I too knew Dave Daniels. In fact we went to school together for many years. During our high school years at Fenton, our hall lockers were next to one another. In between classes, we often we ran into one another while exchanging books. The day of the accident was no different; however, that faithfull greeting is forever bured into my memory as it was the last time I would ever see him.
Today, I have three young children and I try to impress upon them how precious life really is.
Take care,
Ron
Hey Ron!
Nice to hear from a fellow Fentonite.
Wasn't Dave a sweetie? I never heard that young man say one mean word in all the years I knew him. He was truly a kind and decent kid.
My kids are still out there on the road but they're all experienced drivers.
You have lived until you've sat at home while you're kids are out driving as 16 year olds. I think they should all be shown pictures of other young kids who have died in wrecks...just in case they think it can't happen to them.
Good luck with your own!
Meg
Post a Comment
<< Home