Michael Tenhundfeld, Petrina Dixon and Lisa Carter carpooled to work under a translucent blue sky Sunday, swinging into a Cinergy Field parking lot shortly before their 11 a.m. start time.
The game, the Cincinnati Reds vs. the Chicago White Sox, didn't start until 2:15 p.m., but the crew had to prepare food for their concession booth on the red level.
Mr. Tenhundfeld, 18, of Delhi Township, was in charge. It was his third summer working for Cincinnati Sportservice. It was the first season for his girlfriend, Ms. Dixon, 17, also of Delhi Township, and their friend Ms. Carter, 18, of Walnut Hills.
The trio donned their uniforms. They cooked hot dogs, chopped onions, melted cheese for nachos and heated the chili.
So began a promising day that ended with Mr. Tenhundfeld dead behind the wheel of his mother's gray 1984 Honda Prelude and the young women rushed to separate hospitals with serious injuries. "He was my best friend," said Jon Harris, 21, who lived next door to Mr. Tenhundfeld since 1986 and introduced his buddy to Ms. Dixon, "Trina," a year and a half ago.
"Now, I'm going to be his pallbearer."
Outside Oak Hills High School, where Mr. Tenhundfeld graduated June 6, news of the accident rippled from student to student as they stopped by to pick up their report cards. Ms. Dixon will be a senior there next year.
Mr. Tenhundfeld, an only child of divorced parents and father to a daughter born on Halloween, planned to study computer technology at University of Cincinnati this fall. His favorite sport was soccer; his constant companion was Ms. Dixon, friends and teachers said.
"Everywhere Trina went, Mike went. They were inseparable," said a classmate, Jennifer Parish, 17, of Delhi Township. "They were going to get married. They were that serious."
Ms. Dixon, who was riding in the front passenger seat, suffered abdominal injuries in the crash and was in fair condition Monday evening at Children's Hospital Medical Center. The phone beside her bed rang throughout the day, a hospital telephone operator said. She was alert, but declined to talk to reporters.
At University Hospital, Ms. Carter remained in critical condition Monday night, recuperating from surgery to remove her spleen. She had been in the back seat, behind Mr. Tenhundfeld.
Ms. Carter's mother drove through the night from West Virginia to be with her daughter.
Ms. Carter's father, Don Carter of Walnut Hills, recalled the brief phone conversation that shattered his Father's Day.
"It was around 9 or so and they said, 'Your daughter's been in a fatal car wreck. She's in surgery. Get to the hospital right away', " Mr. Carter, 44, said.
Ms. Carter had lived with her father for two years, but moved into her own apartment earlier this month.
Mr. Carter said his daughter was thrilled when she got the job at Cinergy Field in April and was counting on working at the stadium through the Bengals football season. This summer, she hoped to complete a math course at Withrow High School, the last requirement she needs to graduate.
He said his youngest daughter was unconscious Monday and unaware of the car accident, or that Mr. Tenhundfeld had died.
Christopher Angne, director of operations for Cincinnati Sportservice and the teens' supervisor, said he intermittently checked in on them as they worked Sunday.
"They're great kids, nice and upbeat," Mr. Angne said. He hired all three this spring.
"They were having fun, bantering back and forth as they worked. It was just the three of them in there and they each kind of did a little bit of everything."
The game ended around 5 p.m., Mr. Angne said. It took the three-person concession crew almost two hours to clean and close the booth, which overlooks the produce stands on Produce Drive.
Mr. Angne said the teens left the stadium around 6:50 p.m.
"It was a typical Sunday game," Mr. Angne said. "On the way out, they waved and said, 'See ya at the next game.' "
Mr. Harris said Mr. Tenhundfeld planned to eat dinner out Sunday evening with his mother, Margaret Tenhundfeld.
He said Mrs. Tenhundfeld was watching WLWT-TV (Channel 5) when the news broke in about a fatal accident near the stadium. Mrs. Tenhundfeld recognized her car.
"She knew. She called Channel 5 to confirm," Mr. Harris said. "She knew before the police told her."
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