By Reid Forgrave and Sheila McLaughlin
Enquirer staff writers

Tyler Linne

LOVELAND - The four boys had been tight since middle school, and they looked forward to the next couple weeks as a final chance to hang together before their paths diverged to different colleges and new lives away from home.

But a final summer fling for four close Milford High School friends - a two-week trip to a cabin in Maine - turned tragic Wednesday evening in upstate New York when their pickup truck flipped, killing two and seriously injuring a third.

The accident brings the number of Greater Cincinnati teens killed in car accidents this year to at least 21, many of whom died in crashes in which they were speeding and not wearing seat belts. The only occupant of the pickup who was wearing a seat belt escaped with minor injuries.

The two who died were Craig Starkey, 18, of Loveland, an avid reader and Boy Scout who planned to attend Ohio University, and Tyler Linne, 18, of Loveland, a music lover and member of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship who loved to draw and design on computers and planned to attend the Columbus College of Art and Design.

Still reeling at their Clermont County homes Thursday, parents of the two teens said they savor the moments they had together.

"That's one thing that's wonderful about the 18 years we knew him," said Linne's father, Jeffrey Linne, surrounded by dozens of his son's photographs, designs and drawings. "There are no regrets. The Tuesday night before he left, we went out to Joe's Crab Shack and had a great time talking. We sent him off well, hugged him and told him we love him."

Suffering severe head trauma was Ryan Robinson, 18, of Milford, who was airlifted to Albany Medical Center. He was in serious condition in the critical care unit Thursday. Friends said he is suffering from swelling of the brain, broken ribs, punctured lungs, and a broken collarbone.

Mark Fischer, 17, of Loveland, an incoming senior and the only teen wearing a seat belt, was treated and released.

The accident was the second time in three days a Clermont County teen died in a car accident while not wearing a seat belt. Fourteen-year-old Tiffany Storer was killed Monday in a one-vehicle accident in Williamsburg Township.

Starkey, Linne and Robinson donned the red caps and gowns together at graduation three weeks ago. Another friend, Phil Armstrong, planned to go on the trip but couldn't get off work.

Starkey was driving a Nissan Frontier pickup truck. He was eastbound in a rural dairy-farming area of the New York State Thruway - Interstate 90 - near the town of Minden in Montgomery County at 4:55 p.m.

New York State Police said that, near Minden, Starkey lost control of the car and drove onto the rumble strip to the left of the high-speed lane. Starkey steered abruptly to the right, but overcorrected, causing the truck to roll over several times through the median. Starkey, Robinson and Linne were ejected before the pickup came to rest in the westbound lanes, police said.

Starkey was transported to the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown by medical helicopter, where he died two hours later.

The Montgomery County Coroner pronounced Linne dead at the scene.

"This one is clear-cut, black and white, you name it," said Trooper Maureen Tuffey, state police spokeswoman.

"All three who did not have seat belts were thrown from the car. The one kid is treated and released with minor injuries. What a loss of life - three families that are just devastated because they didn't put a seat belt on."

Families will set funeral arrangements today, and the principal of Milford High School said school counselors will be at the school today.

"We expect people will want to come back to where they had their last encounter with these fine young men," said principal Raymond Bauer.

School counseling staff will also attend the teens' funerals.

Justin Graham, a 14-year-old who looked up to Starkey as a leader in his Boy Scout troop, said they went sailing in Ontario last week.

"It's so devastating to go on a trip with him just a week ago and then see him pass away," Justin said.

Starkey, who worked at Nature Outfitters in Milford, loved kayaking, canoeing, sailing and camping, and he won a national writing award while he worked as entertainment editor at The Reflector, the Milford High School newspaper. He looked forward to studying journalism or literature at Ohio University.

Every day after school, Starkey would sit in the kitchen with his three younger siblings and their mother to talk about their day at school.

"I don't know any families where the kids had such a unique and special bond," said his mother, Sharon Starkey. "The only thing that's keeping me going right now is going past all the pictures of him in the house, and he's always smiling. He was just so full of life."

Family members described Linne as someone with a zest for learning and the arts, especially for music and drawing. He worked as a pizza delivery driver for a LaRosa's in Loveland. He enjoyed playing classical music on piano and writing and composing his own songs on the computer. He also played the recorder, the drums and the bass guitar, and was at work on building his second bass guitar - a five-string bass - with his father before he died.

His father says he'll try to finish building the guitar in his son's memory.

"He had a great faith that Jesus Christ was the savior," said Tyler Linne's father, Jeffrey. "So we know where he is now. It was just his time. We just miss him so, so much, but we have that hope that we will see him again."

E-mail rforgrave@enquirer.com and smclaughlin@enquirer.com