August 23, 2009

FLORIDA: Not sure if this fits into the whole teen driving scenario, but it involves teens so it feels wrong to exclude it. An 18-year-old driving a dirt bike without its lights on struck a car, which was also driven by a teen. The accident happened west of DeLand, Fla., at around 11:15 p.m., according to the News-Journal. The dirt bike driver, who was not wearing a helmet, died. A passenger on the bike, also not wearing a helmet, was in critical condition Monday.

OHIO: 19-year-old Jacob Childers died in an early-morning accident after his car struck a tree in western Lucas County. Police say Childers was not wearing a seatbelt, and may have been speeding. There's a short story explaining some details here.

UPDATED: There's more info out now on Childers, known as Jake to his friends, at Legacy.com. Childers was an honors student who was planning to attend the University of Cincinnati in the fall. "He had  agreat sense of humor, a creative flair, passion for adventure, loved music, believed in God, loved the water, and had an appetite of no other." Plus, the picture with his obituary shows that there's a chance the girls were gaga for him.

NEW YORK: A New York City security guard returning home from work was killed by a teen driver early Sunday morning as he stepped out of his cab. The New York Daily News reports that 32-year-old Donald Bryan was struck as he headed back to his Queens home.

He stepped out of the taxi just as a Lexus driven by 18-year-old Alfred Barcenilla Jr. "roared around the corner," witnesses told the newspaper.

"I knew the guy was in bad shape," neighbor Christopher Gianni told the New York Daily News. "The last thing he said to me was that he felt really cold. That's when he started to slip out."

A report in Newsday says Bryan was dragged under the car for half a block until the car crashed into a fence. 

Barcenilla was not injured in the accident, passed a breathalyzer test and was not charged with DUI.

UPDATE: Barcenilla was later charged with underage drinking after the accident. Given the fact he passed the breathalyzer test, he probably was drinking but not technically drunk. What's that new drunk driving slogan? Buzzed driving is drunk driving? Seems to fit here.

OHIO: A 17-year-old boy from Holland, Ohio, was killed when he ran a stop sign and was hit by an oncoming car. Jacob Martin was driving a Dodge Neon when he ran the sign around 7 p.m. Sunday, and was struck by a car driven by a 28-year-old man from Toledo. Martin was declared dead at the scene.

UPDATED: Legacy.com has Jake's obituary and guest book up, although no picture. He was an avid BMX biker, snowboarder, and involved in his church's youth group. He also volunteered at charity events for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and the comments on the guest book show he was a polite and sweet, bringing younger kids to roller skate and "had one of the biggest hearts of anyone I've known."

WISCONSIN: A 17-year-old boy from Campbellsport, Wisc., was killed around 2 a.m. Sunday in a one-car accident on a rural road. Tyler Batzler was partially ejected from his car when it went off the road and entered a ditch, rolling over. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

UPDATE: Friends have erected a memorial page to Tyler on Facebook, in addition to the memorials the family is working on. People keep repeating the same message: Tyler loved life, and was friends with everyone. He had wicked blue eyes, and shared my passion for Will Ferrel movies (at least, that's what his MySpace page says.)

He also appears to have been a pretty good snowboarder, as you can see in this video below. Tyler is the last snowboarder in the shot.

August 22, 2009


MICHIGAN: Police are investigating why 20-year-old Ryan Woodward was laying on a dark rural road, according to this story by the Lansing State Journal. He was struck by a car driven by a longtime friend, age 19. The driver is not expected to face charges, since he was the designated driver and DUI tests prove he wasn't drinking. But police don't know why Woodward was in the road -- could he have passed out there? More to come on this story.


NEBRASKA: The Journal Star posted a lovely memorial story for 16-year-old Emily Johnson, a junior at Southwest High who died Saturday heading for work at noon. The accident occurred close to her home, colliding with a car driven by 17-year-old Taylor Mortensen. His car struck Emily's car at the driver's door as she pulled away from a stop sign.

Mortensen is still in the hospital.

Emily, a twin, seemed like a blast to be around, and her friends still seem in shock by the news. They spent Sunday telling stories about how funny she could be, saying how she could make eating Chipotle burritos graphic and funny.

She had just started her junior year a week earlier.

KANSAS: Sixteen-year-old Dalton Westphal of Carbondale died in a one-car rollover accident Saturday evening. He was a junior at Shawnee Heights High School, and was the only person in the car. Police say the accident is under investigation.

UPDATE: Dalton's obituary is online through the funeral home.  Dalton was an honors student, played soccer, tennis and baseball, and was smart enough to figure out how to fix his new iPod when it stopped working. He liked to play pranks on his sister, and apparently spent a good amount of time laughing.

CALIFORNIA: An 18-year-old Bakersfield man was killed when he crashed into a brick wall on Snow Road. Police say  they're unsure of what caused John Jenkins to lose control of his SUV.

UPDATE: Jenkins' obituary is online, and shows him to be bit of a teddy bear. He loved video games and computers, and spent a lot of time offroading. Known as Jon-Jon to his family and "Tiny" to his friends, Jenkins was willing to help out anyone in need, the obituary says.

NORTH DAKOTA: A 15-year-old driver with his learner's permit lost control of the car he was driving on August 22, and struck and killed a woman who was on the sidewalk.

According to this story in the Jamestown Sun, 60-year-old Christie Morgan was sitting on a folding chair outside the Blockbuster Video in Jamestown. She was selling videos when she was struck.

The driver and a 19-year-old licensed passenger were not identified by police.