GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — Officials said a Gaston County teenager has died and another person was hospitalized after a crash in Gastonia Friday night.
Police told Channel 9 that 17-year-old Thomas Smith IV was killed when the Ford Mustang he was driving left the road and crashed into a tree off Robinwood Road, near Laurel Lane, around 10:20 p.m.
He died at the scene.
A passenger in the car was rushed to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte with serious injuries.
The reality of the loss of a friend and classmate has yet to sink in for many at Ashbrook High School, where Smith was a student.
"I was like, 'They gotta be lying, it's not Thomas. They lying, it can't be him,'" fellow senior Jamillah Fuller said. "It's just hard right now at this moment, really heartbroken, can't believe he's gone."
The site where Smith crashed has been covered with flowers and words of love, and has become a gathering spot for the tight-knit community he grew up with.
Stephanie Walker's son is a friend of Smith's, who she calls T.J., and goes to church with his family.
(Thomas Smith IV)
"We loved T.J. He was an awesome young man. He's gone too soon, been really going places," Walker said.
Just about to graduate from high school, friends said Smith wanted to become a pharmacist and was an excellent football player. His bright personality is exactly what friends will never forget.
"You couldn't be down around him. He always made you laugh, always made you smile," Fuller said.
Police believe speed was a factor in the crash.