We apologize for not posting this sooner. The mail has been acting up
It is a sad but all too familiar story. Students are driving back from an event late at night. The attention wanders for a minute - maybe it was late and they were tired; maybe someone told a funny joke - we'll never know. You can read the rest. We have posted the entire article here to save the registration hassle.
Diogenes
--- "David J. Wenzel" wrote:
From: "David J. Wenzel"
To: dioge...@yahoo.com
Subject: Kent State SigEp- auto accident
Date: Wed, 09 Feb 2005 04:08:18 +0000
Hello-
I just wanted to see if you knew of the two SigEps who died in a car accident this past Thursday from Kent State in Ohio.
There is a link attached to this email, but it does not talk about how they were SigEps, also below I copied the article. I know they were SigEps because at CLA in Cleveland, Ohio we held the Red Rose Memorial Ceremony for our brother from Baldwin Wallace and the two brothers from Kent.
I couldn't find any other articles on this
- Thanks and keep up the hard work of keeping us informed-
HFF
David J. Wenzel
Ohio Beacon-Journal; 3 KSU students killed in crash
From: "David J. Wenzel"
To: dioge...@yahoo.com
Subject: Kent State SigEp- auto accident
Date: Wed, 09 Feb 2005 04:08:18 +0000
Hello-
I just wanted to see if you knew of the two SigEps who died in a car accident this past Thursday from Kent State in Ohio.
There is a link attached to this email, but it does not talk about how they were SigEps, also below I copied the article. I know they were SigEps because at CLA in Cleveland, Ohio we held the Red Rose Memorial Ceremony for our brother from Baldwin Wallace and the two brothers from Kent.
I couldn't find any other articles on this
- Thanks and keep up the hard work of keeping us informed-
HFF
David J. Wenzel
Ohio Beacon-Journal; 3 KSU students killed in crash
Posted on Fri, Feb. 04, 2005
3 KSU students killed in crash
Friends went with driver to see brother wrestle in Beloit; stop sign missed on return to Kent
By Ed Meyer and Rachel Myers
Beacon Journal staff writers
KENT - It was supposed to be a night to celebrate one of those unforgettable moments in sports that they had all experienced when they were in high school not so long ago.
Eric Citino, an 18-year-old freshman at Kent State University, was driving back to campus with three other KSU freshmen Thursday night after taking them to watch his younger brother, Elliot, in a wrestling match at West Branch High School in Beloit.
They had to be in a joyous mood because 16-year-old Elliot Citino had just won his match in the 103-pound weight class.
And then, as the four friends were heading home on a dark Mahoning County road in Smith Township, tragedy struck and three of
them suddenly were gone.
Eric Citino, northbound in a 1996 Mazda 626 on Beloit-Snodes Road, missed a stop sign at state Route 14 and struck a 1993 Ford
F-250 pickup broadside, according to the Canfield post of the State Highway Patrol.
It was 9:11 p.m., the road was dry, and there were no aggravating factors in the crash, patrol radio dispatcher Cheri Smith said.
"He just failed to stop. We had a witness right behind him," Smith said, "and as far as we can determine, he just did not
stop."
Those who died at the scene, Smith said, were Eric A. Citino of Homeworth in Columbiana County; 19-year-old Brandon J. Butler of Woodsfield in Monroe County; and 18-year-old Chelsea L. Lausberg, a Kent State cheerleader from Cabot, Pa.
The lone survivor in Citino's car was Megan E. Daum, 19, of Marysville in Union County. She was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown, where she was listed in critical condition Friday, according to the patrol.
Patrol Sgt. Joe Luebbers, a public information officer at state headquarters in Columbus, said Daum was in the front passenger side of the car and was not wearing a seat belt. He said Butler was in the right-rear seat and also was not belted.
Luebbers said Eric Citino and Chelsea Lausberg, who was in the left-rear seat, were wearing belts.
Investigators from the patrol's Canfield post do not suspect alcohol or drugs as factors in the crash, Luebbers said.
The driver of the pickup, Michael Nelson, 41, of Salem, had no serious injuries, according to the patrol.
Witness account
The witness, Timothy E. Hull of Salem, agreed with the patrol's assessment that the students somehow missed the stop sign.
Hull said he and his wife, Sue, were on the same road behind the students, driving separate vehicles after picking up one of them at a repair shop. He did not wish to go into detail about what he saw at the scene where the Mazda had come to rest in a field.
Hull did say that when he approached the car, he heard the voice of the survivor. He and his wife then helped her out, led her back to the cab of his pickup and put a blanket around her until help arrived.
"Let me just put it this way," Hull said. "A tragedy like this shows you how fragile life is, how you can be there in the blink of an eye, and then be gone just as quickly."
Lisa Butler, Brandon Butler's mother, said he was an honors student who was very active in sports, playing football and running
track at Barnesville High School.
"This is my worst nightmare come true," she said.
A friend of the Citino family said Eric was heading home when the accident occurred.
"His friends just came with him to see the wrestling match," he said, too distraught to say more.
Scott Weingart, superintendent of the West Branch school system, described Eric as a "good, hard-working young man" who was
on the football and wrestling teams and enjoyed many extracurricular activities.
Weingart said Eric worked on the school newspaper and yearbook staffs, was a member of Future Teachers of America and a recipient
of West Branch's 2004 Athletic Booster Scholarship Award.
According to the Kent State student directory, Citino's major was earth science. Lausberg's major was fashion merchandising. Butler was a general major in architecture and environmental design. Daum's major is early childhood education.
Classmates numb
Fellow KSU freshmen Nicole Lipscomb and Leah Brady, who live on the same floor of Olson Hall as Daum and Lausberg, said the tragedy has left everyone numb.
"They were both nice, sweet girls," Lipscomb said. "I don't even know what to think right now."
"It's just a huge shock," Brady said. "Nobody really knows what to do right now. It's like everybody is just walking around in a daze."
Josh Scribben, 19, who lived across the hall from Butler in Terrace Hall, said Butler was in a fraternity and was athletic and popular.
"You really couldn't meet a nicer kid," Scribben said. "It's just a horrible tragedy."
University President Carol A. Cartwright issued a statement expressing condolences to the victims' families and friends.
"We hope that during this very difficult time, you will find comfort in knowing that so many are keeping you in their thoughts and prayers," Cartwright said.
University spokesman Ron Kirksey said a memorial service was being planned but that details had not been finalized Friday.
Private funeral services for Citino will be held on Monday. His family announced that a public memorial service will be held at 7:30 p.m. Monday at First Presbyterian Church, 436 E. Second St., in Salem.
Memorial contributions in Citino's honor may be made to the West Branch Booster Club, 14277 Main St., Beloit, OH 44609.
Services for Butler and Lausberg had not been finalized on Friday.
