This happens every year somewhere, and this year it happened in Northern Virginia:
Students at West Potomac High School in Fairfax County have heard, repeatedly, about the dangers of alcohol. After their graduation ceremony Thursday afternoon, the school sponsored an alcohol-free, all-night party. But in the end, young drivers take the keys, and their fates, into their own hands.
And so the defining image of the 2007 graduation season will be a white convertible Volkswagen Cabriolet, upside down, its roof gone, and four young lives gone with it. Two 18-year-old West Potomac graduates and two George Mason University students were killed late Thursday when their car suddenly veered into the path of a tractor-trailer on a ramp from the Capital Beltway. A fifth teenager, a 17-year-old West Potomac student, was hospitalized after being cut out of the wreckage. She was released yesterday afternoon, authorities said.
At midafternoon yesterday, Virginia State Police disclosed that alcohol was found in the Volkswagen, Sgt. F.L. Tyler said. Pending further investigation, police declined to be more specific about whether the alcohol container was open, what type of alcohol was found or whether there was proof any of the five women in the car had been drinking.
Police said the driver of the 2002 Cabriolet, Elaine M. Thackston, 20, a student at George Mason University from Troy, N.H., was killed. Her roommate, Sarah R. Carter, 19, of Alexandria, a West Potomac graduate, was killed. Carter’s cousin, Lydia M. Petkoff, 18, of Alexandria, was killed. Petkoff’s classmate, Renee N. Shelkin, 18, of Alexandria, also was killed.
Petkoff and Shelkin had received their high school diplomas Thursday afternoon in a graduation ceremony at the Patriot Center at George Mason.
The Post article also focuses on the other victim, the driver of the tractor trailer who, clearly was not at fault:
The Freightliner was driven by Glenwood B. Spears, 42, of Sanford, N.C. He was not hurt. No charges were filed, and state police said he was not at fault.
Teresa Spears said her husband arrived home in North Carolina yesterday afternoon beset with grief. He had been in Army Special Operations before retiring and taking a job as a truck driver more than a decade ago.
“When you’re talking about four young lives on the brink of so much potential, there’s nothing to compare,” she said.
“He’s not one of those gung-ho, macho men. He’s a loving and caring and giving person,” Spears said. “We’re just remorseful. We’re just praying for the families, you know. Our kids are just not long out of school themselves. I couldn’t imagine the heartache those families must be feeling. . . . I just couldn’t imagine the void.”
Her husband was not up to speaking about it, she said. “I know this is going to affect him for a long time. But it really isn’t about him right now. It is, but it isn’t. It is about the four families. My husband . . . Those children,” she said, beginning to weep.
Very sad but, given the presence of alcohol in the car, completely predictable.
Update: Perhaps I was hasty to tie the accident into the presence of alcohol. That remains to be seen. However, there was clearly some not so good driving going on here, and that doesn’t make this any less tragic.
Update # 2: I have further thoughts in response to a comment to this post here.
no offense but u did not know the driver. i did. and im sorry but most likely she was not drinking. she had it in the car, but she might not have been, that was just who nettie was. so, please keep the judgments to yourself, till u know the whole story, then maybe u can make comments like that.
it is tragically sad that these young ladies lost their lives. it is also tragically sad that, without further investigation, people are blaming their deaths on the fact that alcohol was found within the vehicle. no reports have indicated that any of the women were drinking. in a perfect world, perhaps teenagers would never drink. however, it is unreasonable to suggest that teenagers, headed out for a beach trip, with alcohol in the car were necessarily intoxicated at the time of the accident. i suggest that the columnist think about how he would feel if the victims were his friends, children, or other loved ones, before he made such callous statements regarding the young lives lost.
alcohol was clearly not involved because the toxicity report clearly showed that there was nothing in any, including the driver, systems. you are only concerned with salacious journalism and gives a bad name to other journalist and innocent victims. As the driver’s sister no one knew her better and please refrain from judging both her driving and wither or nor she was intoxicated. you do not know the story, your comments are hitting “below the belt” of a poor dead young person and you are only causing more pain for my family and the familes of the other girls.
The driver of the car was my daughter.
I think it is sad that the focus of most reporting has been on what I have been told was un-opened alcohol in the car. (Certainly it was not my impression that anyone investigating this matter was pulling any punches with me.)
No one seems to be interested in discussing the fatally bad intersection called “the mixing bowl” where automobile traffic mixed with tractor trailers regularly moves at 75+ MPH through a dozen or more lanes including left hand exits and bridges.
My daughter was an experienced young driver, who had commuted over thirty miles each way to and from school in high school daily as well as regularly between Northern Virginia and New Hampshire since entering GMU in 2005. She had over 80,000 miles on her car and it was well maintained and just been inspected and overhauled at Volkswagen.
I understand that this is tragic for hundreds of people and I don’t mind if it is used as a parable to scare other teenagers from drinking and driving but it should be based in fact. I think there is a real parable of the dangers of this intersection and driving on the beltway that is being totally ignored, I think because it would be an inconvienient reality for life on the beltway.
It is to easy in our busy lives to not appreciate those around us and forget that this moment or day may be our last with them.
There are no words that can describe this loss for the families invovled.
Carpe Diem
[...] reading this comment to this post, I feel like I’ve got to say something: The driver of the car was my [...]
First of all, I am sorry for you loss, Mr. Thackston. However on june 6 last year, was it your daughter who had a DUI. on the Fairfx County arrest web site, the name, age and address matches your daughter’s. Is it the same Elaine Tackston that was driving the night of the accident.
Cheryl,
Until the evidence is in, and even when it does, what happened last year is not relevant.
Cheryl,
You should absolutely be ashamed of yourself. Please get your own life and quit trying to make others as miserable as you obviously are.
I think what happened last year IS relevant. Apparently the girls knew each other well, and a DUI at age 19 is an alarm bell. It’s not “just a mistake.”
Especially on GRADUATION night, which is KNOWN to be dangerous. There had been at least two other similar accidents that week in that area.
I think the parents of the girls who were 16, 17, 18, and 19 at the time of Thackston’s DUI should have paid close attention to that. But that’s called “blaming the parents,” and you’re not allowed to do that anymore. Ever. Don’t you dare!
i agree blaming parents is a big taboo. In this day and age they think anything goes. the kids should have allot of fun what ever way they want drinking or not drinking. driving all the way down to Va. beach when there was a perfectly safe party to go to at the school. i’ve worked hard all my life i dont feel like i should tell my kids to go for it have a blast now cause if you grow up youll be limited as to how much fun you can have. that is what i think allot of parents do these days they tell their kids this crap cause they are stressed out with their adult lives. they dont know how to tell them that playing it safe is ok and you can still have fun and live longer (if some other thing doesnt get ya) ask anyone who works in a emergency room near a college univ. they will tell you there is way too many alchohol poisoning cases that come through there in any given week (they dont even just party on the weekends they do it during the week) i guess they major in getting drunk first then their degrees to many of them any way. feel sorry for the truck driver and all the other families including the driver of the cabrio whether alchohol was a part of it or not or even if she made a mistake driving they way she did. it wont bring them all back. parents should discuss cases like this with their kids and hope and pray for the best.
I drive by that intersection every day on the way to work. Everyone is driving too fast and many are not sure where to go and what lane to be in. I have told my kids, aged 17 and 19, that missing an exit is way better than taking a chance. No matter what they are late for..it is not worth it. My son just got a ticket for 89 in a 65, certain death in his Eclipse. He says he would rather be dead than seriously injured. Can parents remember back to that feeling of invulnerability that teens have? You can only try to instill in them a feeling that they have more responsibility to the people that they love and that love them and hope that the message gets through. I am hoping……..I pray for all the girls and their families no matter the wrongs involved. In the end, the loss of a child is the most unthinkable of all pains. I love my children beyond belief, as I am sure all the parents involved in this horrific tragedy did.
I almost lost my now 26 year old daughter a few years ago due to a rear left tire blowing out on I-91. She was in the backseat (no seatbelt) of her friends car that was traveling approximately 75 miles an hour, when the tire blew out. The car rolled 7 times as she was ejected through the front windshield and landed in the opposite side of the interstate…oncoming traffic. Her injuries were life threatening and the medics told me to say my “goodbyes” to her as nobody expected her to live through the helicopter ride to Darmouth Hospital. How does one say goodbye to your child? How does a parent continue to live without their child? Everytime that I pass by mile marker 11 going south on I-91, I shed a tear or two. The memories of that fateful night still haunt me. I can’t even imagine how the parents of these 4 girls are coping. It is shocking to me how nasty some of the people have been in their postings. This is a time to open your heart and prayers to everyone involved. This tragedy has been so horrific and all those involved will never be the same. Please find it in your hearts to imagine what it feels like to loose your baby! I have cried many a tear for the Thackstons as this reminds me of that fateful night that I almost lost mine. My prayers have been constant in the last week, I know that the pain will never go away but want you to know that I hold you and your family in light.
Blessings to all of you ~ Dick, Andrea, Annie and Richard….
Robin Sandhoff and family
Cheryl and others-
Does it give you some great satisfaction to degrade the dead? I am truly disgusted by your rash and cold hearted words, without a single ounce of factual information to back up any of your alligations. Whether Nettie had a DUI previously or not, this is a whole other circumstance that ended in a horrible tragedy due to horrible driving conditions and nothing more than that. Please take the time to read this and think how any of you would feel to lose a child, sister, or friend the next time you want to bash someone who can no longer defend themselves. Even more so it is quite obvious you knew none of these girls, especially Nettie and it breaks my heart to see people assume they know everything.
R.I.P Nettie we love you
My greatest sympathies to the families of the other girls.
I had the privilage to know Nettie. spend time with her, in camp, and out of camp. She was a great person, funny, and fun to be around. I haven’t talked to her in some time, but my thoughts are with her, and her family. Annie, im so sorry that you even have to tell people that they are saying things below the belt about her. It is rude, hurtful and rather sick that ANYONE has ANYTHING bad to say at a time like this. People who didnt know her have no right to even open their pathetic mouths. Just remember, ” as we sit in our wicker arm chairs, we can remember about the times that we shared” (sorry i havent been there ina while)
RIP Nettie, i love yah, and will miss you…
Wow, today is the first day since the accident that I have really been able to read anything about it. I only knew one victim, Sarah, I had met the driver once. Reading the post makes me realize how self-righteous we can be. I am pleased to know that some people in the world have never made a mistake. Not that I think these girls did. What happened was a tragic accident. Families have lost loved ones. There was no alochol found in the driver — shame on you for casting stones instead of showing compassion and love. My life is richer for knowing Sarah. I now have a whole in my heart. All I can Say to you is that she would never have judged you, she would have shared your sorrows and your joys. She was a true example. I am so sorry she and the other girls are gone.
Just another note Chery, get a life you obviously have too much time on your hands if you can check out arrest websites — maybe you can do some volunteer work and help people in times of sorrow instead of casting stones.
“…alcohol was clearly not involved because the toxicity report clearly showed that there was nothing in any, including the driver, systems.”
A lie. A flat out lie. She had both weed and booze in her system according to the tox reports. But that lie is the kind of support you can expect from women when it’s a “sister” that is reckless, irresponsible and deadly.
I’m sure we’ll be hearing about an “abusive boyfriend” that caused her drunk and drugged driving.
And a special award to those who claim both that she was not drinking AND then turned around and blamed her dead victims for allowing her to drive impaired.