Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2002 | 11:11 a.m.
LaToya Perkins, a Centennial High School senior, rode the bus to school this morning, too upset by Friday's fatal crash to drive her car to school as usual.
Perkins, who was close friends with Ryan Sneed, the 16-year-old driver who died, and his younger sister Samantha, who was injured, said she doesn't know when she will drive again.
"It's such an awful thing to happen," she said. "Ryan was just the nicest person, the kind of person you would go to if you had a problem.
"I was too scared to get in my car."
Sneed was killed in a crash after school Friday when the vehicle he was driving pulled in front of a tractor-trailer about a mile away from the high school.
It was the second fatal accident involving groups of Las Vegas area high school students this year.
On May 9 near Las Vegas High School, passenger Natasha Keeter, 17, was killed instantly in a single-car crash on Sahara Avenue. Unlicensed driver Ashley Troester, 16, later died of her injuries. Three other girls were seriously hurt as they headed back to school from an off-campus lunch.
Counselors were available at Centennial High School this morning to talk to students who returned to school today after the Friday crash that killed Sneed and injured his sister and three other teenagers.
Otherwise the school was "business as usual," officials said. No special assemblies or commemorations were planned.
Samantha Sneed, 15, was discharged from University Medical Center Sunday. The other passengers in the 1994 Jeep Cherokee -- Lauren Ozawa, 14, Jade Ozawa, 15, and Emily McIntyre, 14 -- all were in critical condition this morning at University Medical Center.
A hotline number has been set up by the families with the conditions of the surviving passengers. The number is 658-6730.
Perkins said she told her friends who did drive to school to be extra cautious, watch their speed and look out for others.
Perkins wasn't the only one keeping an eye out for speeding students this morning. Two police cruisers at either end of Centennial Parkway were ticketing motorists this morning, including two students wearing the school's orange bulldog T-shirts.
Metro Police are still investigating the crash, the second fatal accident involving teenage drivers in less than six months. Sneed was killed after running a stop sign about 1:20 p.m. Friday at Alpine Ridge Way and Lansford Road and slamming into a tractor-trailer, police said.
A traffic sign at the intersection reading "Cross Traffic Does Not Stop" this morning was inscribed with the words "Rest In Peace Ryan Sneed," part of a makeshift memorial that took shape over the weekend.
A photo of Sneed was pinned on a Centennial golf teams shirt that had been autographed by friends and teammates. Dozens of dried and wilted bouquets were piled at the stop sign, accompanied by a Book of Mormon.
The letters R.I.P. were spelled out in rocks at its base, along with a heart. A small wooden cross was erected with Sneed's name, and about 20 burned-out votive candles surrounded the memorial.
A law that went into effect July 1 should have lessened the human toll of the crash, Erin Breen, the director of Safe Community Partnerships said on Monday.
Nevada adopted a graduated license program in 2001, preventing anyone under the age of 21 who is not a family member from riding in a car for the first two months a new 16-year-old driver is behind the wheel, Breen said.
"From what friends told us, the driver just got his license," Breen said Monday. The Safe Community Partnerships is ready to strengthen the law, she said.
In 2001 there were a total of 18 fatalities and 11 serious injuries involving teenagers 16 and 17 years old. Of the total of 29 involved in accidents, only three wore seat belts.
The accident seemed to bring those numbers home to Centennial students. West Kuter, a senior who lives up the street from the Sneed home, said he was particularly cautious driving to school this morning.
"It's not worth the risk to try and get somewhere fast," he said.
Kris Andrews, a freshman, won't be eligible to drive for two years, but said his father gave him a stern lecture.
"My dad told me, 'Just because you have an ID doesn't mean you can fool around or act crazy,' " Andrews said.
Funeral services have been set for 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Buffalo Stake Center, 3300 N. Buffalo Ave.
Born May 20, 1986, Sneed was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a member of the Southern Nevada Junior Golf Association, roller hockey and golf team at Centennial High School and the Boy Scouts of America.
He is survived by his mother and father, Elizabeth and Brad Sneed of Las Vegas; 15-year-old sister Samantha, who was seriously injured, and brother David; grandmother Janet Sneed of Grantsville, Utah; grandmother Merry Nye of Seattle; and grandmother and grandfather Judy and Ted Birkland of Las Vegas.
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