ST. BERNARD - Brown and white pompons. A wrestling uniform. A well-worn
soccer ball signed by the team.
In the Roger Bacon High School gymnasium Wednesday afternoon, the mementos piled up. And as each one was placed carefully on the stage by students, sniffles broke into sobs and moans turned into wails.
It was a day of grieving at the Roman Catholic school here as students, teachers, parents and friends struggled to cope with the deaths of three sophomores killed Tuesday morning when their speeding car crashed on the way to school.
Sarah Garibay, 17, of New Burlington was a cheerleader. Greg Von Bargen, 16, of New Burlington was a soccer player. Kyle Yearion, 15, of Fairfield was a wrestler.
''Death comes to us all, but when it comes so soon, it is a very rude surprise,'' the Rev. Pat McCloskey, the school's chaplain, said during the memorial Mass Wednesday afternoon.
While students grieved, Cincinnati police continued to investigate the accident, trying to determine what caused driver Steven R. Von Bargen, 17, Greg's brother and a Roger Bacon junior, to go into a skid on the dry, straightaway and slide into oncoming traffic in the 5300 block of Este Avenue in Winton Hills.
Excessive speed contributed to the accident, said Sgt. Bill Coombs of the police traffic unit. Steven's vehicle was traveling 60 mph or more in a
35-mph zone.
''We need to find out for sure ... but it looks at this point like this is a case of kids running late for school,'' Sgt. Coombs said. The students were 2 miles from school and five minutes from the first bell when they wrecked.
Steven had a speeding conviction Oct. 24, Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles records show. Details of that conviction were unavailable.
A certified mechanic will examine the 1991 Mazda Protege that carried the four students to see if a mechanical problem also played a part, Sgt. Coombs said.
''There could have been a broken (steering) tie-rod ... There could have been a stuck throttle,'' he said. ''We need to find out what made (the driver) lose control of the car.''
There was no evidence of intoxication, he said.
The driver of the other car, Donald Robinson, 37, of Union Township, Clermont County, remained hospitalized in serious condition Wednesday in Good Samaritan Hospital.
Steven Von Bargen was released by noon Wednesday from University Hospital. Police have yet to interview him.
Oblivious to investigators and the rush of nearby traffic, students clustered around a makeshift memorial cross at the accident scene
They came clutching tissues and left a growing pile of flowers, candles and photographs behind.
''It was like having a limb removed,'' said Adam Wiggershaus, 18, a senior from College Hill and a co-captain on Greg's soccer team.
Flags flew at half-staff at the school, where 875 students are enrolled. Students and teachers wore white ribbons to remember the teens. Friends decorated the students' lockers with notes, poems, photographs and flowers.
''We miss you, we love you, we want you back. Why did this happen to anyone?'' read one note.
''I hope that our fight is forgiven. I wish I could say I'm sorry,'' read another.
Colorful posters bearing messages from anguished students formed a patchwork tribute from floor to basketball rims in the gym, where students hugged, cried and held hands through the memorial Mass.
''Some students have asked me, 'Where was God in all of this?' '' The Rev. McCloskey said. ''I would say to you that God was there (Tuesday) when people were hugging each other, giving each other Kleenex. God was there when some students made a cross and put it up at the accident site. God was there when some students prayed with lit candles in front of the statue of Roger Bacon this morning.
''And God is with us now, offering us the possibility of turning some of this pain, some of this grief, into compassion.''
While there were plenty of tears, there also was some laughter as friends shared memories.
Junior Jason Ernst, 16, of Springdale remembered Greg as a joker who had a knack for loosening people up.
''If there was a conversation and things were getting too serious, Greg was the guy who threw something at someone and started everyone laughing again,'' said Jason, a co-captain on Greg's soccer team.
Roger Bacon administrators rescheduled exams for next week. Visitation for all three students will be 5 to 8 p.m. Friday in Roger Bacon High School, 4320 Vine St., said the Rev. Roger Bosse, the school's principal. Mass of Christian burial will be 10 a.m. Saturday in the school
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3 DEATHS SHATTER SCHOOL Jan. 15, 1997
