Brother, Sister, Friend Die In Crash on Way to Breakfast

[kimmy4lsu]

http://www.wfsb.com/news/14267776/detail.html

WOLCOTT, Conn. -- A crash killed three high school students en route to breakfast on Thursday morning in Wolcott.

Police told Eyewitness News that officers shut down Route 322 (East Street) after the students' blue Subaru clipped the back portion of a boat being towed by another vehicle in the northbound lane at about 8:30 a.m. The car slid across the road's center line and struck a southbound utility truck, Wolcott police Capt. Domenic Angiolillo said.
Angiolillo described the crash as one of the worst he has ever seen, saying he hasn't investigated "a triple fatality involving kids at this age."

Witnesses told police that the teens' car was speeding, although its speed and other factors in the crash remained under investigation Thursday.

"He went to go around the boat, clipped it, spun around, didn't see the box truck and smashed in to him. We all ran over there to see if they were alright," said Phil Sylvain, a classmate.

"We have reconstruction team from Southington PD, and through the physical evidence, they'll be able to determine the speed and the driver's actions," Angiolillo said.

Police said they don't know whether the teens were wearing their seat belts.
Eyewitness News has learned that Anthony Apruzzese, 17, a senior at Wolcott High School, was driving the car. The front passenger was identified as Jessica Apruzzese, 14, a freshman at Wolcott High School who is the driver's sister. The passenger in the back seat was identified as Thamara Correa, 15, a freshman at Wolcott High School.

School for the day had been canceled at Wolcott High School because of a water main break.

Friends described Anthony Apruzzese as a nice guy who had a reputation for speed.

"Everyone's in shock. The kid has nine lives and this is the last one," Sylvain said.

Anthony Apruzzese first obtained his driver's license on Aug. 11, 2006, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles. Police have cited him for speeding in November 2006 and a seat belt violation.

In March, police cited him with driving while under the influence in connection to a crash. At that time, Anthony Apruzzese's license was suspended for 90 days.

Close-Knit Community Mourns Teens

Angiolillo said about 150 teenagers stopped by the crash scene Thursday morning, lining up at the police tape. Grief counseling is being offered to anyone who needs it at Wolcott's Town Hall and the Town Green.

Wolcott, which has slightly more than 15,000 people, borders Waterbury and is about 30 miles southwest of Hartford. State Sen. Sam Caligiuri, whose district includes the town, described it as a close-knit community.

It's really horrible that their classmates had to watch them die like that.......shouldn't have been speeding  :|  R.I.P.  kids

[tiffanyal]

Wow that's horrible! Reminds me of a couple years ago, a guy I went to school with was drunk, and ended up hitting a tree, killing himself and the passenger. There were two cars full of his friends following behind who saw the whole thing. I wonder what his speed was at the time though.

[LilDevil]

If you already have a DUI and you're only 17, you should never EVER be allowed to get a license.  The last thing I need on the road when I'm driving is an inexperienced possibly drunk teenager.  I think with most teenagers, it takes something drastic to get them to stop making a stupid decision so it would probably take their first car crash for them to realize, "hey, maybe I shouldn't be doing this."  Unfortunately for this kid, inexperience, speed, and the possibility that he wasn't wearing a seatbelt killed him, his sister and their friend.  At least he didn't hit another car causing ever more fatalities.

[HyperU2]

I'll have the scrambled teens.