LANCASTER COUNTY, S.C.,None — Plastic car parts littered the ground on a steep embankment near Kershaw. Broken glass and bright orange paint mark the spot where a car carrying two teenage boys came to rest at the t-intersection of Fork Hill and Phillipstown Roads.
State troopers say 17-year-old Justin Brewer was driving the Mazda that ran the stop sign at Philipstown and Fork Hill, and slammed into the high embankment. Brewer died at the scene. His passenger 16-year-old Derrick Peach died later at a Columbia hospital.
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Both teens were juniors at nearby Andrew Jackson High School, however, neither was in school for the entire day yesterday. It's not clear why.
"Our hearts just go out to the families," said Assistant Principal Alex Dabney.
Dabney said both students had outgoing personalities that made them popular beyond their own class.
"If you walked around this building today, you'd see ninth graders, seniors and of course tenth graders, having difficulty with this."
There are 620 students at A.J. High School and the Kershaw area is a small, close community. That's why it wasn't only counselors who showed up on campus to help students deal with their grief. Parents, church leaders, and sheriff's deputies also came. At one point as many as 40 people were at the high school talking to students, and listening to them.
Dabney told Eyewitness News that Brewer and Peach played football together for the Andrew Jackson Volunteers. Brewer also played baseball, and Peach played golf.
At the crash site, friends and family members stopped and walked around, staring at the ground. They're trying to make sense of a tragedy that seems to defy explanation.
"When you look around at this situation here, you just don't know what happened. Don't have a clue," said family friend Joey Coats.
Coats had just come from the home of Justin Brewer, and paid his respects to the family.
"Saddest situation I've ever seen," he said. "There are kids from school there, friends, family members, church family too. It's pitiful. A pitiful sight to be around."
Tod Smith's son, Jordan, played football with Brewer and Peach. He said his son tried to go to school today to be with his friends, but he was taking him home early.
"It's killing him. I feel sad for him i really do. I'm fixin' to go pick him up from school. He's not dealing with it very well," Smith said.
State troopers have not released information about the speed of the car, or how the crash might have happened.
They told Eyewitness News they may never have all the answers because there were no eyewitnesses, survivors, or much evidence that would allow them to reconstruct the crash.
Boys and girls basketball games at A.J. High School were canceled Tuesday night as well as all practices. The school has not made formal plans for a memorial for the two students.