SCHELLSBURG - Just one week before a new school year begins, three Bedford-area teenagers, two of them current students at Chestnut Ridge Senior High School, were killed in a two-vehicle crash.
A car driven by Steven M. Mowery, 17, was involved in a crash about 7:50 p.m. Monday at Point and Valley roads in Napier Township, state police at Bedford said. Mowery pulled onto Valley Road and into the path of an SUV driven by Tracey A. Winegardner of Schellsburg.
Mowery and passenger Brandi Strom, 15, were pronounced dead at the scene by Bedford County Coroner Sam Gordon. Mowery and Strom were in the senior and sophomore classes, respectively, at Chestnut Ridge.
A second passenger in Mowery's vehicle, Roger James McGarry III, 18, of Bedford was flown by medical helicopter to Altoona Regional Trauma Center, where he was later pronounced dead by Blair County Coroner Patricia Ross.
None of the teenagers wore a seat belt, police said. Winegardner, who was wearing her seat belt, received moderate injuries in the crash.
Grief counseling was available Tuesday at the high school and would continue at least through the end of next week, Chestnut Ridge Superintendent Joseph Kimmel said.
"The transition back into school sometimes is difficult," Kimmel said of Monday's start to classes. "With this added challenge on top of that, I believe students will be emotional again when they're in class and notice that absence."
Kimmel said the students killed in the crash were well-known in their classes and that their loss impacts students and faculty.
"We are certainly a community school," he said. "It is like having your own family, just a larger family. Those losses certainly take their toll. The ripple effects are felt throughout the organization, throughout this family."
Kimmel said he received a phone call from state police Monday evening, saying there was a possibility that those involved in the accident were students. That nightmare was confirmed Tuesday morning, Kimmel said after speaking with families to express the district's condolences.
"I love my job, but this is the worst feeling and the worst part of the job that you have to go through," Kimmel said. "I've had these sorts of situations before, but it doesn't make them any easier or less painful. It's certainly a tragedy. It reminds you how fragile life is."
A viewing for Mowery will take place from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Timothy A. Berkebile Funeral Home in Bedford, with a funeral service at 11 a.m. Friday. He was the son of Steven D. Mowery and Linda (Kesner) and Gary Lee.
Mowery was a member of Chestnut Ridge Independent Fellowship Church and an employee at Slick's Ivy Stone Restaurant in Osterburg.
Funeral arrangements for Strom and McGarry were not available late Tuesday.
Mirror Staff Writer Wendy McCardle is at 946-7520.
