Adults’ role in teen crash is probed

By Emily Richmond

Thursday, Nov. 13, 2003 | 11:14 a.m.

Henderson Police are investigating whether adults allowed alcohol to be consumed at a house party hours before three teenagers died and two were badly injured in a car wreck.

"Our investigators are focusing on a handful of people," Deputy Police Chief Richard Perkins said. "If there are laws that have been broken that led to this tragedy, we're going to pursue them to the fullest."

Toxicology reports are pending on Green Valley High School sophomore Sean Larimer, 16, who was driving his Pontiac Grand Am when it slammed into a concrete wall at 12:30 a.m. Monday. Police said immediately following the wreck they suspected alcohol was involved.

The legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers 21 and over is 0.08. For drivers under 21, the legal limit is 0.02.

Killed in the collision were Travis Dunning, also a sophomore at Green Valley, and Coronado High School sophomores Josh Parry and Kyle Poff. Green Valley sophomore Cody Fredericks remained in serious condition Wednesday at University Medical Center.

Larimer was released Wednesday. He received his license just nine weeks before the wreck. Contacted at their home, the family declined to comment.

The investigation into the crash and the events leading up to it are a "top priority" for the police, Perkins said.

"This has shaken our community to its core," Perkins said. "As a father with a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old at home, I can't begin to tell you how it has affected me."

Tina Parry said Wednesday she wants to know what happened in the hours before the wreck claimed the life of her 15-year-old son. "All of them were wonderful kids," Parry said. "The didn't think this was going to happen to them. I'm a Christian and that's the only thing that's keeping me going right now. I know my baby is with Jesus."

Parry said she has also taken comfort in visits from her son's friends and classmates, a sentiment echoed by the parents of 15-year-old Travis Dunning.

In the three days since the wreck, the doorbell at James and Susan Dunning's Henderson home has not stopped ringing.

There's been a parade of teenagers, all talking about the easy-going, handsome boy who always had a smile or a joke to share.

At Green Valley High School, where Travis was a sophomore, the students started a memorial fund for the families and by lunchtime Wednesday had collected $3,000, Dunning said. Sam King, a junior at Green Valley, had hundreds of T-shirts printed with photographs of Dunning, Poff and Parry and distributed them to students.

"You can't imagine the love and support we're getting from these kids," said James Dunning, who wore one of the white T-shirts in an interview at his home Wednesday.

Dunning said he isn't angry at the car's driver, Larimer.

"He's going to have a huge cross to bear for the rest of his life," Dunning said.

That doesn't mean Dunning doesn't want answers. After being told by several of his son's friends that a house party took place Sunday -- where parents supposedly allowed alcohol to be consumed -- Dunning said he contacted Perkins.

"I want to know where the party was, who the parents are and if there was alcohol involved," said Dunning, a casino host at the Bellagio. "(Perkins) told me the tragedy that happened shouldn't have happened and there would be a full investigation."

Susan Dunning, a counselor at Vanderburg Elementary School, said she wasn't ready to hear details of her son's last hours.

"Part of me wants to know, but it won't bring my son back," she said.

Friends recalled Dunning as an upbeat individual who could charm anyone out of a bad mood and who loved tiger roll sushi as much as a bowl of cereal.

"He was always willing to do things with us as a family," Susan Dunning said. "He didn't get embarrassed going with us to the movies."

James Dunning said Ryan Olson, another close friend of the group, was dropped off at his home just minutes before the collision near the Silver Springs Community Center. Travis was supposed to be the next to be dropped off, James Dunning said.

Ryan Olson's stepmother, Valerie Olson, confirmed Wednesday that her stepson had been dropped off by his friends just before the wreck but said he wasn't ready to discuss the details publicly.

While mourning for her stepson's lost friends, Olson said she was doubly thankful that he wasn't hurt because her own son drowned three years ago in Alaska. Bryan Lewis, 17, had been a student at the Las Vegas Academy, a performing arts magnet high school.

"Maybe this was God's way of saying we had suffered enough already," Olson said. "Whatever the reason, we are just so grateful. Sad and grateful."

Rick Poff said this morning he last spoke with his son at 12:25 a.m. Monday, just five minutes before the crash occurred. Kyle Poff promised to call when the group reached Fredericks' house, where they planned to stay the night.

"We always made him call from the house phone so we could see the caller ID," Poff said.

But both Poff and Kyle's mother, Sharlene, dozed off before he checked in -- something they said has never happened before.

Sharlene Poff said she woke up at 3 a.m. in a panic, trying to remember whether her son had called. She left several messages on his cell phone, thinking he had gone to sleep at his friend's home. It wasn't until Susan Dunning called several hours later looking for her own son that the Poffs knew something had gone terribly wrong.

"Kyle was lying there for hours and we didn't even know it," Sharlene Poff said, her voice choked with grief. "I wish I could have gone to him. He would still be dead but at least he wouldn't have been alone."

Rick Poff said he believed that alcohol was a factor in the crash. A representative from the coroner's office told the family the severity of their son's injuries suggested excessive speed as well, he said.

Rick Poff said he was anxious to see the results of the toxicology tests for Larimer. He also wanted to know if alcohol was a factor how it was obtained.

Noelle Waite, a senior at Green Valley, said house parties sponsored by parents are not uncommon. Because there are teenagers who will always find a way to drink, it's safer to be at someone's house than out driving around, Waite said.

"(The parents) make everyone throw their car keys in a bowl," Waite said, as she stood near a memorial to the crash victims. "If they think you can't drive, you have to spend the night."

While a parent may serve alcohol to their own child while in their own home, the law prohibits adults from supplying liquor to anyone else under age 21, Perkins said.

"What common sense is there to providing juveniles with alcohol in the safety of your home knowing they are going to have drive away from there?" Perkins asked.