3 N.C. teens killed in Fla. accident ( collision with tractor-trailer )

The Charlotte Observer ^ | Posted on Mon, Jun. 30, 2003 | AP

[TaxRelief]

HAINES CITY, Fla. - Three recent N.C. high school graduates were killed and a fourth critically injured Saturday when their car drove into the path of a tractor-trailer, authorities said.

Authorities identified the victims as Terron Chu Davis, 18, of Winston-Salem; Ryan Byerly, 18, of Clemmons; and Sean Maxwell, 18. Maxwell's hometown was not immediately known. Bryan Staley of Lexington was in critical condition Saturday at Lakeland Regional Medical Center.

The teens were vacationing in Orlando to celebrate their graduation from North Davidson Senior High School in Lexington

Davis, who was driving a 1996 Buick, made a left turn at an intersection and drove into the path of the tractor-trailer, according to a police report. The tractor-trailer driver, Jimmy Elliott, 28, was not injured, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. No charges have been filed in the crash.

Byerly's father, Ryan Byerly, said the Orlando trip was a send-off before he started college at N.C. State University. The father described his only child as a gifted math student who loved to play soccer.

"He enjoyed life and we enjoyed him," his father told the Lakeland Ledger.

[TaxRelief]

Also this weekend:

Four teens killed in Chicago auto accident (Alcohol was involved)

Head-on highway collision kills two teens near Calgary

[Howlin]

FYI.

[wimpycat]

Wow. 3 out of 4 killed when they made a left turn in front of a tractor trailer? I wonder how fast they were going and how many of them, if any, were wearing seatbelts.

I certainly feel bad for all those involved, including the tractor trailer driver, even though it wasn't his fault.

[PleaseNoMore]

They were all wearing their seatbelts according to the reports on local news WRAL. Sad. We have had a rash of kids killed here locally in Moore County NC too. So sad.

[wimpycat]

That's not surprising. At our company, one of our drivers was in a pickup truck when he was broadsided by a tractor trailer that had run a stoplight. He was wearing his seatbelt and he barely survived. Depending on how fast the tractor-trailer was going, it's not all that surprising that most of the occupants of the Buick were killed.

[SavageRepublican]

Three weeks ago, two 17-year old boys were killed in a similar accident at a very dangerous intersection south of Columbia, MO. People have left lots of flowers at the site. You can still see the skid marks where the vehicles went off the road.

Link to Columbia Tribune article