BATAVIA TOWNSHIP -- An Amelia High School student drove his car into the path of a school bus on a rural Clermont County road Monday morning, leading to a crash that killed his younger brother and another teen, police say.
Steven Lowery, 15, and Justin Smith, 15, both of Union Township and freshmen at the high school, died in the crash. Steven's older brother, Roy Lowery, Jr., 17, was at the wheel. He was not seriously injured.
The accident occurred at 7:48 a.m. at Ohio 222 and Mount Holly Road, which one neighbor later described as a "terrible intersection."
The teens' car was northbound on Ohio 222 and heading straight onto Mount Holly Road, when Roy apparently failed to heed a "yield" sign, Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Mike Click said.
Their white 1986 Pontiac firebird was struck broadside by a bus driven by Carol Gildea, 51, of Edgewood Drive, Batavia. She and a school monitor in the bus, Phylis Zeter, 53, of Firth Street, Batavia, were treated for trauma at Clermont Mercy Hospital and released, officials said. No students were on the bus.
The bus is owned by the Clermont County board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (MR/DD) and is used to transport disabled people to the Thomas E. Wildey School for special needs students. Rory Banziger, superintendent of Clermont County MR/DD, could not be reached for comment. Trooper Click said the bus was likely en route to begin picking up students.
Steven was taken by BMOP Life Squad to Clermont Mercy Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Justin was taken by helicopter to University Hospital, where he died.
The boys, friends since second grade, lived within a quarter-mile of each other in Union Township -- the Lowerys on Glen Este-Withamsville Road and Justin on nearby Timberwood Lane. None was wearing a seat belt, police said.
Mark Stanton, who was driving behind the car when the crash occurred, gave a dramatic account of the aftermath.
"There was absolutely nothing that school bus driver could do" at the blind curve. "It was a 3,000-pound (car) being hit by a 10,000-pound (bus). The car spun (180 degrees on impact)." The bus slowed at the intersection; the car did not, Mr. Stanton added. Trees blocked the view of Ms. Gildea -- the reason a "yield" sign is there.
Mr. Stanton said Roy jumped out of the Firebird after the accident shouting to the injured teens: "Hang in there; don't die on me."
Mr. Stanton said he put his hand on Justin as the boy lay pinned in the back seat of the car.
"That's all I could do -- put my hand in the back seat. He was unconscious," Mr. Stanton said.
Students at Amelia High School reacted with disbelief and tearful hugs at hearing the news Monday.
"No, no, they didn't," one shaking girl said in a low voice as friends of Steven and Justin told her the boys were dead. "It's not true. No!"
Roy, a junior, was treated at Clermont Mercy Hospital and released.
Steven and Justin were described as close friends who shared a fondness for heavy-metal music and who once played youth soccer together. "They used to skateboard, hang out, do normal things," said freshman Jason Morgan. "They just had a lot of friends. I don't know what else to say."
"It's going to be a very hard day tomorrow," Amelia High assistant principal David O'Toole said moments after school was dismissed Monday.
He described Roy Lowery as "a quiet kid, an intelligent, sensitive kid," and said that "kids driving need to realize, it only takes a second."
Grief counselors are expected to arrive this morning at Amelia High.
At the Smith home Monday afternoon, Justin's uncle, Gary Smith, said, "Parents couldn't ask for a better kid. ... I'd never seen him in a bad mood."
As he spoke, neighbor Mary Kern walked by. They embraced. Mrs. Kern's son, Matt, was a good friend of all three boys.
Trooper Click said the teens had just left Harsha Lake at East Fork State Park, where Roy Lowery Sr. was fishing. Officers went to the lake after the crash and notified Mr. Lowery of his son's death. Troopers did not know whether the boys were skipping school.
Trooper Click attributed the accident to Roy Lowery Jr.'s failing to yield at the junction. There was no alcohol involved. The Clermont County prosecutor will determine what charges will be filed.
Rich Weimer, 41, of Lebanon, who grew up in a house on Mount Holly Road in view of the intersection, was at his boyhood home Monday afternoon picking up some items following the recent death of his father, who lived there.
"It's just a terrible intersection. There have been more accidents and problems there, and it's been going on for a long time," he said.
Trooper Click called the intersection "unorthodox," but said markings and signs are visible and easy to read, and pavement is in good condition.
The boys' deaths were the ninth and 10th in Clermont County this year, the high way patrol reported. In 1997, Clermont tied with Stark County for having the most fatalities -- 30 -- on rural highways in the state.
The accident was the second fatal crash involving a school bus in the Tristate in less that a month. On April 21, a pickup and a school bus collided in Kenton County, killing Mark "Allen" Van Horn, 17, a Simon Kenton High School junior.
Dr. Ann Moser, clinical director of Child Focus, a private, non-profit agency, said her group is one of several that will have counselors at the Amelia High library today.
"Different people grieve differently," Dr. Moser said Monday. "The students also are their own good source of support. The key is to allow them to tell their stories, to normalize the grief reaction."
