WARREN, Ohio (AP) - A speeding sport utility vehicle taken without
permission and carrying eight teenagers crashed into a guardrail Sunday
morning and flipped over into a swampy pond in northeast Ohio, killing
five boys and the young woman driving, the state highway patrol said.
The Honda Passport veered off the left side of a
road and overturned just south of the city of Warren, about 60 miles
east of Cleveland, Lt. Anne Ralston said. Investigators say it came to
rest upside down in the swamp and sank with five of the victims trapped
inside. A sixth, who was thrown from the SUV during the crash, was found
under it when the vehicle was taken out of the water.
The two boys who survived escaped from the
submerged vehicle and ran a quarter-mile to a home to call 911, the
highway patrol said.
State Highway Patrol Lt. Brian Holt said at an
evening news conference that speed was a factor, although investigators
were still trying to determine the speed at the time of the accident.
"We will not be speculating on alcohol and-or drug usage pending toxicology reports," Holt said.
No one in the vehicle had permission to take it,
but there were no theft reports, Holt said. The vehicle was licensed to a
resident of Youngstown, about 20 miles away, he said.
After the news conference, the gates of an impound
lot were opened to show the wreck, with windows smashed and extensive
damage to the front end, hood and roof.
Ralston didn't know where the teens were headed
when the crash happened at about 7 a.m. and Holt said later it wasn't
clear how long they had been out.
"All I know is my baby is gone," said Derrick Ray,
who came to the crash site after viewing his 15-year-old son Daylan's
body at the county morgue. He said he knew that his son, a talented
football player who was looking forward to playing in high school, was
out with friends, but didn't know their plans.
A pile of blue, green and copper-red stuffed bears
grew at a makeshift memorial at the crash site along a two-lane road
tightly bordered with guardrails on either side in an industrial area.
The sport utility vehicle had sheared off tall cattails along the
guardrail.
There were also notes at the memorial, including a
letter from Daylan Ray's 12-year-old half-sister, Mariah Bryant, who
said she had learned they were related only in the past year.
"It hurts, it really does, because they are so
young and, like, they could have had so much more to life," she said.
"We just really started getting close, and it's hard to believe he's
gone."
Warren Fire Department Capt. Bill Monrean said a
cold water rescue team was deployed to the scene and got five teens out
of the submerged vehicle.
"Being a cold water rescue situation, cold water
extends life," Monrean told AP Radio. "We knew we had a chance; even
being in there a while."
Two of the teens, both 15, were brought to a
hospital in full cardiac arrest, St. Joseph Health Center nursing
supervisor Julie Gill said, and were pronounced dead there. She said
they were treated for hypothermic drowning trauma, indicating they had
been submerged in cold water.
The two who survived, 18-year-old Brian Henry and
15-year-old Asher Lewis, both of Warren, were treated for bruising and
other injuries and released, she said.
All those killed were ages 14 to 19, authorities
said. State police identified them as the 19-year-old driver Alexis
Cayson; Andrique Bennett, 14; Brandon Murray, 17; and Kirklan Behner,
Ramone White and Ray, all 15. The Highway Patrol said Crayson was the
only female in the vehicle.
Rickie Bowling, 18, a friend of Behner, sobbed at the crash scene as she recalled his playfulness and reputation as a cut-up.
"He was one of a kind," she said. "Everyone knew him in the neighborhood. In school, he always made everyone laugh."
Bowling said the tragedy highlighted the importance
of savoring life. "Basically, enjoy every second in life," she said.
"Enjoy life while you've got it and while you're here and enjoy people
that you love."
She said she would rely on her faith in the
difficult days ahead. "The only way to look at it is on the bright side:
he's in a better place," she said.
Jasmine McClintock, 22, a friend of a victim,
visited the crash scene and said it should serve as a warning for
parents to be aware of their children's activities.
"I hope it's an eye-opener for parents," she said
while watching the slow ripple of the pond water littered with debris,
some apparently from the crash.
McClintock said she was troubled by the question of
what the victims were doing out at that hour, not knowing if they had
been out all night or left home early.
"That's the part that boggles my mind. It's like on
a Sunday if you're not going to church, what are you doing at 7 a.m.
out driving," she asked.
Officials opened a school where several of the
victims attended to provide counseling for families Sunday night.
Superintendent Michael Notar called the crowded closed-door session
heartbreaking and said counselors would be available Monday in schools.
Cheryl Moore, 54, whose nephew is a classmate of
some of the victims, emerged from the counseling session and said it was
helpful."I just feel we have to come to grips with what happened
today," she said.
All eight were from Warren. It's not believed that any of them were closely related, the highway patrol said.
Near the Pennsylvania state line, Warren is a
mostly blue-collar city that was hit by the decline of U.S. steel mills;
it has more than 41,000 residents in the industrial Mahoning Valley
region.
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