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TWO TEENS KILLED
High school students die in morning crash
Date published: 8/22/2008
BY ELLEN BILTZ AND KAREN BOLIPATA
Two Riverbend High School students died in a car crash yesterday morning, just days before Spotsylvania County schools open Monday.
Erik Louis Heusmann and Clayton Keith Willett, both 18, died at the scene soon after the Ford F-150 pickup Heusmann was driving crashed into a tree, said Sgt. F.L. Tyler of the state police.
The teens were traveling eastbound on State Route 3 near State Route 640 about 5:55 a.m. and went around a curve at "a high rate of speed."
They veered off the left side of the road, hit a ditch and the truck began to roll until it was stopped by a tree, Tyler said. Both were wearing seat belts.
Spotsylvania school spokeswoman Sara Branner refused to release information yesterday, saying she had not received confirmation that all family members had been notified about the fatalities.
Mario Heusmann, 29, said he didn't know where his younger brother was headed yesterday. The 18-year-old had a big heart and liked video games, sports and reading books, he said.
When Mario Heusmann needed help moving from Tennessee to Virginia, his brother drove the six hours to help, no questions asked.
"He was always there for anybody that needed him," Mario Heusmann said.
Yesterday afternoon, skid marks on Route 3 showed where the truck began to veer as it was coming out of the curve.
Vehicle parts lay in the ditch, and the tree was scarred.
At Riverbend a few miles away, students practicing for various athletic teams shared their memories.
Student Alex Blackman said of Heusmann, "People are gonna miss him."
"He was always happy," said Ali Brissett, an 18-year-old football player and one of Heusmann's classmates. "We were in classes together and we'd always talk about girls and stuff."
Mario Heusmann said his brother was intelligent and planned to boost his grade-point average so he could get into a good college.
"I hope these kids learn a lesson from this," he said. "You know they say to live for the day and this and that. But you have a life to live, and other people are affected by your actions."
None of Willett's family members could be reached yesterday.
Heusmann and Willett are the latest Riverbend students killed in car wrecks in the past 14 months. Rising juniors Brandon Bates and Hunter Garner died in June 2007, when Bates lost control of his green BMW on Spotswood Furnace Road and struck some trees.
Project Yellow Light, a safe-driving campaign, was established in Garner's name and awarded its first scholarship to a student in March.
Ellen Biltz: 540/374-5424
Email: ebiltz@freelancestar.com
Read more stories about Spotsylvania
Date published: 8/22/2008
Most recent reader comments:
Just momments away
(posted by
Swivelwater
, Aug. 22, 2008 7:45 pm)
My heart goes out to the boys. I came up to the scene 5 mins after it happened. I asked the 2 men that made the call if they needed someone with Cpr training. When I was informed that there was nothing I could do. My heart goes out to the family members, I swear had there been any moment of hope I would have been there to do everything in my power to help them. This was the most hurtful thing I have witnessed. My sincere apologizes goes out to the family..
RIP
(posted by
Adree
, Aug. 22, 2008 5:33 pm)
I knew Erik and i can honestly say that he will be missed. he was a good person and a good friend. my condolences to his family
You really did not want to see what the truck looked like with the tarp off it. I thought it was a car when I passed just a minute after it happened if that tells you how bad it was. Senseless tragedy that was avoidable. Hopefully Spotsy will step up their monitoring of the inbound traffic on Rt. 3 east in the mornings to bring the speeds back down.
Technology
(posted by
seantrantham
, Aug. 22, 2008 10:28 am)
I just hope that once my 4 year old is old enough to drive, that the technology that would log his speed for parent's review is affordable enough for everyone to use. Perhaps if kids knew that the parents were watching at all times, they would think twice about speeding and prevent parents from suffering as the parents of these two are currently. I am so sorry.
Very Sad
(posted by
deidre1213
, Aug. 22, 2008 10:20 am)
I was stuck in the traffic back-up resulting from this terrible tragedy. When we were able to move seeing the truck with the top covered and it mangled and smashed caused me to immediately feel a sense of loss for someone. I knew it had to been fatal at that moment. I wondered all day what happened, who was this person, were they possibly okay. It tormented me thinking of someone possibly experiencing a loss or getting that dreaded phone call. My sympathy goes out to both families.
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