Teen Killed In Crash On Rural Union County Road

WESLEY CHAPEL, N.C.,None — A high school student from Waxhaw died in a car accident Tuesday afternoon, and friends have now mounted a Facebook campaign to make the road where he died safer for other drivers.

Alexander Pappa, 17, and his brother, Paulo Pappa, were leaving Cutherbertson High School Tuesday afternoon when Alexander Pappa lost control of his vehicle and went sideways on New Town Road. An SUV coming from the other direction struck their car on the passenger side, state troopers said.

Paulo Pappa was trapped in the car and had to be removed by firefighters, troopers said. He died on the way to an area hospital.

Alexander Pappa was not seriously injured in the crash.

Hours after the accident, students at Cuthbertson High School set up a Facebook page asking everyone to wear black Wednesday as a tribute to Paulo.

A Facebook group calling for safety changes to New Town Road was also created.

Crystal Boland created it to try to rally support for lower speed limits and wider roads. She said she found out her friend and bandmate Paulo Pappa died when she logged onto Facebook Tuesday.

"I have a couple other friends who had gotten into accidents that were pretty bad accidents on that road already and this was -- we don't want this to happen again, especially not to our school," Boland said.

Amber Bartlett, who lives down the street from where the crash happened, said just pulling out of her driveway can be dangerous.

"I'll pull out and when I look in my mirror, there's a vehicle right on my bumper," she said. "You don't see them coming over that hill."

Between 2007 and 2009, the average daily traffic on New Town Road increased by 1,300 cars, according to the Department of Transportation's most recent records. The high school opened within that time frame.

The Highway Patrol said Alexander Pappa was not speeding at the time of the accident, but may have been going too fast for conditions because the roads were wet at the time of the crash. Troopers said their information will be referred to the district attorney for review, and the district attorney's office will then decide whether any charges will be filed.

WSOC