and Sarah Buehrle
Enquirer contributor

Asbrock

        MASON — Grief and shock swept this Warren County city after a weekend that claimed three of its young people, including a 15-year-old boy whose death on a street outside Paul Brown Stadium also stunned many in the law enforcement community.

        “I'm almost at a loss for words,” said John McCurley, mayor of this fast-growing city of 22,000 people. “Hopefully, their families and neighbors can lend support and help them through the difficult times they're going through ...

        “I'm sure the community suffers along with the families of these people,” the mayor said.

        Grief counselors and youth ministers spent Monday at Mason High School, where students were reeling from the deaths of freshman Scott Asbrock, alumnus Marc Lytle Jr. and former student Zachary Biser — all from Mason.

        Grief counselors also will be available for students today.

        “Understanding why, that's the toughest thing they're dealing with today,” guidance director Gary Popplewell said. “I haven't seen a student yet who didn't ask that.”

SERVICES

Visitation for Zachary Biser will be from 3-5 p.m. today at Town Christian Center, 221 S. Forest Ave., Mason. Funeral services will be private.   Funeral services for Scott Asbrock will be Wednesday at St. Susanna Church, 305 Fourth Ave., Mason. Visitation is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., followed by Mass.   The funeral for Marc Lytle is private at the family's request.   Mason High School Principal Gerald Cox said the school also is planning a memorial for the three. The date and details will be announced later.

        On Sunday, Scott was on his way to the Bengals game with his 19-year-old brother, Chris, when an SUV drove through an intersection outside the stadium and hit five people, police said. Scott died later that day at University Hospital.

        Their father is an Ohio State Highway Patrol sergeant with other relatives in law enforcement.

        One day earlier, Mr. Lytle, 21, was killed in Liberty Township, authorities said, after he failed to yield at a stop sign on Millikin Road. He collided with an Oldsmobile Omega in an early morning accident.

        Also Saturday, Zachary, a 16-year-old student at Oneida Baptist Institute in Kentucky, committed suicide in his room at the 102-year-old boarding school, said W.F. Underwood, the school's president.

Family well known

        Scott's death reached into the Tristate police and fire communities, where his father and uncles work.

        “It has hit us pretty hard. This kind of stuff makes it hard for us,” said Jerri Redfern, a dispatcher at the Lebanon post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, who recalled bouncing a much younger Scott on her lap when his father worked at the post years back.

        Scott's uncle, John, has been a trooper at the Lebanon post for years, while Scott's father, Sgt. Michael Asbrock, was transferred to the Hamilton post 10 years ago when he received a promotion, Ms. Redfern said.

        Sgt. Asbrock has been a criminal justice instructor at the University of Cincinnati for 15 years, Ms. Redfern said.

        Another of Scott's uncles is a sergeant at the Evendale Police Department and others are area firefighters, said Sgt. Asbrock's boss, Lt. Michael Black, at the Hamilton post.

        “Everybody is pretty upset,” Lt. Black said. “It has hurt a lot of people. The main thing is that we are all here to support him and the family.”

        Lt. Black said the post planned to have state cruisers in the funeral procession as a tribute to Scott.

        Scott was on his way to the game with his brother when the SUV careened through the intersection.

        “(Chris) was trying to grab Scotty, but they couldn't hang on. Neither could the policeman. There was nothing they could do,” Ms. Redfern said.

        Scott, a freshman at Mason High School, was a member of the debate team and band, and a baseball player. He also maintained high academic standing.

        Friends said he learned last week that he made the concert band. He played trumpet and made third chair out of 12. He was in the marching band his first trimester at the school.

Always a smile

        “He was as close to a perfect student as there is,” said Mason band director Robert Bass. “He never missed a rehearsal. He was a perfectionist. He always had a smile on his face. He was always respectful of his peers and adults.”

        Mr. Lytle entered the military after graduating from Mason High School, then had moved home with his parents. They requested privacy Monday.

        Mr. Underwood of Oneida Baptist Institute said Zachary was one of about 400 students at the school, which he had attended for just 28 days.

        “We are all very, very shocked by this. It all came out of the blue,” said Zachary's mother, Lori Biser of Mason.

        Rick Huff, a truant officer at Mason High School who will eulogize Zachary, said the teen was a popular student.

        “Zach was very well-liked here at the school by the kids, especially. He had a lot of friends. Quite frankly, they're taking it pretty hard here,” Mr. Huff said. “There are a lot of teary eyes here. A number of kids just didn't even come to school at all today. Their parents called and said they couldn't sleep last night.”

        Enquirer reporter Sheila McLaughlin contributed to this story.

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