Friday, May 10, 2002 | 11:11 a.m.
Las Vegas High School students cried after classes Thursday when they learned that five of their friends had been involved in a serious accident that killed one.
A carload of Las Vegas High girls apparently rushing to get back to campus before the end of their lunch period crashed into a light pole, killing one passenger and critically injuring the driver and three other passengers.
The car hit the pole in the median of Sahara Avenue near Sloan Avenue about 11:20 a.m. Thursday with such force that it split the 1987 Ford Thunderbird in two. The passenger compartment remained stuck against the pole while the engine compartment slid about 30 feet away.
Ashley Troester, the driver, apparently was driving too fast and lost control going around a curve. The car spun and crashed into the pole on the passenger side of the car, said Sgt. Curt Albert of Metro Police's fatal accident unit.
The crash killed 17-year-old Natasha Keeter. Troester was in critical condition at University Medical Center this morning, as were passengers Ashley Biersach, 16, and Kiley Quinn, 15. The fourth passenger, 16-year-old Aleisa Valdez, was in fair condition.
The girls, all students at the nearby high school, had apparently left school for lunch.
The lunch period ended at 11:25 a.m., said Sgt. Ken Young of the Clark County School Police.
One student said he watched as Clark County firefighters freed the surviving teenage girls one by one from the two-door car that was wrapped around the pole.
Travis Tennell, 16, said he had attended classes with Troester, a sophomore, throughout the school year. The blond Troester had done some modeling, he said.
"I saw some of the photos," Tennell said.
Jahana Campbell, 15, a sophomore, said at least one of the students, Keeter, was a senior preparing to graduate on June 15.
"She just got a new Mustang for a graduation present," Campbell said.
Las Vegas High School Principal Barry Gunderson was away from campus attending athletic events and could not be reached for comment.
Counselors at the school offered crisis intervention services to students.
One school official said police had not notified the school of the students' identities by closing Thursday.
The accident remains under investigation, but Detective Doug Nutton said it appears that Troester was traveling about 60 mph around a curve and lost control. The speed limit on that stretch of road is 45 mph.
In addition to speed, the inexperience of Troester as a driver may have contributed to the crash, Nutton said.
Nutton said Troester did not have a driver's license. He said she may have had a learner's permit, but if so, she should not have been driving with passengers. The permit allows a new driver to practice with a licensed driver over the age of 21.
Sun reporter Keith Paul contributed to this story.
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