February 11, 2009 4:38 PM
- Text
Town Mourns Cheerleaders Killed In Crash
(CBS/AP)
Hundreds of points of light dotted a hillside outside a suburban Rochester high school where a candlelight vigil was held last night in memory of the five young women who died in a fiery car crash.
Officials at Fairport High School say grief counselors will be available this week for the classmates of the five victims, all members of Fairport's class of 2007.
The teens were among nine recent graduates headed to a family cottage in the Finger Lakes when their SUV collided head-one with a tractor-trailer and burst into flames.
"We cheerleaded together and we were all best friends," said Keisha Koneski, 18, who witnessed the fiery collision along a 55-mph highway in western New York's pastoral Finger Lakes region. "In our (trailing) car, we could see the truck coming and we all started screaming."
The tragedy happened just five days after the teens graduated from Fairport High School, triggering an outpouring of emotion in this Erie Canal village of 6,000 some 10 miles southeast of Rochester.
"It could be any five that were lost — we would grieve the same," said Debra Tandoi, a town official who works with young people in the village's schools. "Our hearts just explode."
The victims had just overtaken a van when their sport utility vehicle swerved back across the two-lane road into the oncoming tractor-trailer shortly after 10 p.m. on Tuesday night.
"There may have been an overcorrection causing the vehicle to re-enter the (oncoming) lane," Ontario County Sheriff Phil Povero said.
The SUV and the truck careered into a roadside fence next to a bed-and-breakfast hostel outside the village of East Bloomfield and caught fire, sending flames shooting at least 20 feet into the air. The SUV ended up crushed and charred in a shallow ditch partially underneath the truck.
An overhanging maple tree was scorched, and blackened debris littered the road. The crash knocked down a utility line and cut phone service in the western half of Ontario County. The truck driver, Dave Laverty, 50, was not injured.
Killed were Bailey Goodman and Meredith McClure, both 17, and 18-year-olds Sara Monnat, Hannah Congdon and Katherine "Katie" Shirley. All five were cheerleaders in high school, but Shirley left the squad in her freshman year.
"It's a community nightmare," school Principal Dave Paddock said. "Our hearts are broken. We love our kids and are crying."
Officials at Fairport High School say grief counselors will be available this week for the classmates of the five victims, all members of Fairport's class of 2007.
The teens were among nine recent graduates headed to a family cottage in the Finger Lakes when their SUV collided head-one with a tractor-trailer and burst into flames.
"We cheerleaded together and we were all best friends," said Keisha Koneski, 18, who witnessed the fiery collision along a 55-mph highway in western New York's pastoral Finger Lakes region. "In our (trailing) car, we could see the truck coming and we all started screaming."
The tragedy happened just five days after the teens graduated from Fairport High School, triggering an outpouring of emotion in this Erie Canal village of 6,000 some 10 miles southeast of Rochester.
"It could be any five that were lost — we would grieve the same," said Debra Tandoi, a town official who works with young people in the village's schools. "Our hearts just explode."
The victims had just overtaken a van when their sport utility vehicle swerved back across the two-lane road into the oncoming tractor-trailer shortly after 10 p.m. on Tuesday night.
"There may have been an overcorrection causing the vehicle to re-enter the (oncoming) lane," Ontario County Sheriff Phil Povero said.
The SUV and the truck careered into a roadside fence next to a bed-and-breakfast hostel outside the village of East Bloomfield and caught fire, sending flames shooting at least 20 feet into the air. The SUV ended up crushed and charred in a shallow ditch partially underneath the truck.
An overhanging maple tree was scorched, and blackened debris littered the road. The crash knocked down a utility line and cut phone service in the western half of Ontario County. The truck driver, Dave Laverty, 50, was not injured.
Killed were Bailey Goodman and Meredith McClure, both 17, and 18-year-olds Sara Monnat, Hannah Congdon and Katherine "Katie" Shirley. All five were cheerleaders in high school, but Shirley left the squad in her freshman year.
"It's a community nightmare," school Principal Dave Paddock said. "Our hearts are broken. We love our kids and are crying."
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