Friends mourn teens killed in crash

Jen Lawson

Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2003 | 11:03 a.m.

-- Henderson Police Department

The accident occurred on Silver Springs Drive at Pinion Springs Drive at 12:30 a.m. Monday, and by late afternoon the crash site had become a shrine with a mound of flower bouquets, balloons, stuffed animals, candles, cards, notes, three white crosses and photographs.

One photo showed the five smiling boys lined up together in suits and tuxedos, corsages on their chests. Friends said the five always hung out together.

Sean Larimer, the 16-year-old driver of the car and a Green Valley High School football player, was upgraded from critical to serious condition today at University Medical Center. Cody Fredericks, 15, the other survivor of the wreck, remained in critical condition at the same hospital. Josh Parry, Travis Dunning and Kyle Poff, all 15, were killed in the wreck.

Drivers cruised by the scene slowly Monday afternoon. There were no classes in the Clark County School District on Monday, so friends of the boys who were in the wreck were able to spend the day at the crash scene, hugging each other and crying. Some stared at the shrine in disbelief, talking about how those who were gone had been too young to die.

Dunning, nicknamed "T-Baby" because of his baby face, was a fun-loving prankster, friends recalled through tears.

"I'm used to seeing them every day and talking to them. It hasn't hit me yet," Paola Diaz, 15, said as she sat on the curb.

"A lot of people aren't going to be the same after this," Ashley Lopez, 15, said. "Things won't be the same without them."

Lopez and others said they weren't surprised that police are saying the crash may have been alcohol-related, noting that it's not unusual for teens to get behind the wheel after drinking.

Teens at the accident site said the boys involved in the crash had been at a party earlier in the night where alcohol was being served.

Richard Perkins, deputy chief of the Henderson Police Department, said, "There was some suspicion raised at the scene that alcohol was involved. At this point, it's still being investigated ... We don't know what caused the accident."

He added: "I hope with all my heart that alcohol was not involved."

He also said Monday it was too early to say whether Larimer will face criminal charges. Police previously said Larimer was speeding when the accident occurred. The speed limit in the area is 25 mph.

Some of Larimer's fellow students said they believed he had been licensed to drive for four or five months, but Henderson Police said Monday they weren't certain when Larimer received his driver's license. It's an important detail because the state's graduated driver's license law says teens cannot have anyone younger than 18 in their vehicle until 90 days after receiving their licenses.

The teens apparently were in violation of Henderson's curfew law. The law says those under 18 must be home at 10 p.m. on weeknights and midnight on weekends.

As police continue to sort out what led to the wreck, they are also looking at ways to try to reduce fatal traffic accidents.

Less than 24 hours before the teens slammed into the wall, three other people -- 27-year-old Fabian Cantu of Las Vegas, 19-year-old Raylene Espino of Henderson and 12-year-old Shizel Espino of Henderson -- were killed in a two-vehicle crash early Sunday morning on Lake Mead Drive and Reserve Boulevard.

Eli Espino, 19, of Henderson, also was injured in the head-on collision. He was listed in fair condition today at UMC.

Henderson Police said the deadly collision occurred after a minor accident involving a Pontiac Sunfire and Cantu's car. Cantu fled the first accident and the Pontiac chased him, police said.

Both vehicles turned onto Lake Mead Drive, where the Mitsubishi veered into the oncoming lane, striking the Toyota head-on.

Perkins said six traffic deaths on Henderson streets in less than 24 hours is "horrible for us."

"It's so unusual, and it's certainly not anything we want to repeat," he said. "When something happens that's so out of the norm for us, we ask ourselves what we could have done to prevent it."

The police department is gradually adding a fourth shift, one that will overlap the swing shift and graveyard shift, Perkins said. This will put more officers on the streets during the wee hours, when most of the fatal crashes have occurred this year.

Some officers are currently on the overlapping shift, but it's not fully staffed yet, he said. As more officers come out of the academy, more officers will be added to the new shift.

He said the police department will continue to present the Every 15 Minutes program in the high schools, a two-day demonstration that illustrates the perils of drunken driving. The title refers to the statistic that every 15 minutes someone in the United States is killed in an alcohol or drug-related wreck.

During the event, a grim reaper carrying a large scythe roams the halls, approaching one student every 15 minutes. For the rest of the day, those students wear white makeup on their faces and a coroner's identification tag around their necks.

The program also includes a simulated car wreck outside the school, complete with actual paramedics and rescue response. Obituaries, written by parents, are posted and the dead are taken off campus for an overnight retreat.

The presentation had taken place in September at Green Valley High School. Most of the teens involved in Monday's crash went to school there, although at least one other attended Coronado High School. All were either freshmen or sophomores.

Shirley King's 16-year-old son, Sam, attends Green Valley High School, and she said "everyone was in tears that day even though it wasn't real."

The program, however, involves only juniors and seniors, and Perkins said there are no plans to expand it to include freshman and sophomores because of limited resources.

King said she thought underclassmen should be involved in the program, but wondered if it would have made a difference.

She said her son, who played sports with some of the victims, spent the night at a friend's house Sunday night and when she heard that some Green Valley High School students had been killed, she panicked.

"I couldn't find him at first," she said, a tear falling from her eye. "I was very thankful when he finally answered the phone ... I feel really bad for the parents."

Green Valley's football banquet is Wednesday night, and Sam King said, "It's not going to be the same."

The victims were described by friends as popular and good-looking. Lopez said she used talk to Dunning on the phone frequently and he gave her the nickname "A-Diddy."

She said she hopes other teens take the deaths to heart, as a cautionary tale.

"If this doesn't get through to them, I don't know what will."