UPDATE: 3 Juniors at Kent Roosevelt Hurt in Rollover Crash on River Bend
Police believe speed may have been a factor in Thursday afternoon crash
Photos
Editor's note: this story was updated at 9:25 a.m.
Three junior girls at Theodore Roosevelt High School were injured Thursday afternoon when the car they were riding in rolled over on River Bend Boulevard.
All three were transported to Akron area hospitals after the Volkswagen they were riding in rolled over at 2:44 p.m. just east of the River Bend bridge Thursday.
Kent Patch is witholding the names of the victims pending official confirmation.
One of the passengers was ejected during the crash and was taken by a Metro Life Flight medical helicopter to an Akron Hospital. The other two had to be cut free from the wreckage by firefighters using the Jaws of Life.
A post on one of the girl's facebook pages indicated she had a broken shoulder, pelvis and fractures in her neck but she was "talking with her mom and in good spirits" Thursday evening, according to the post.
Kent City Schools Superintendent Joseph Giancola said he spent Thursday evening at the hospital and learned all three girls have a good prognosis for recovery from the crash.
"The entire school district is a bit relieved this morning," he said.
Giancola said their injuries included broken bones and bruises, but no life-threatening internal injuries or concussions.
Students at the high school wore green and white today in support of the girls, some of whom attended St. Patrick's School in Kent.
The helicopter landed and took off at the high school in front of a large crowd of students attending after-school activities. The other two victims were transported via ambulance.
The driver of the car apparently lost control and left the roadway while traveling westbound on River Bend Boulevard, according to Kent Police.
"Speed may have been a factor," Kent Police Lt. Paul Canfield said.
Witnesses and residents of the River Bend subdivision said another car may have been involved indirectly in the crash. One resident said the car was one of several she's seen repeatedly speeding through the neighborhood.
Kent Police Chief Michelle Lee told the Record-Courier that alcohol or drugs are not believed to be a factor in the crash.
Witnesses who saw the crash are asked to call the Kent Police Department at 330-673-7732.
The accident happened almost 13 months to the day that five seniors at the high school were injured in a rollover crash in downtown Kent in March 2011. All five victims of that crash have since recovered.
Matt Fredmonsky
2:05 pm on Friday, April 20, 2012
Got photos of TRHS students wearing green and white to support the crash victims? Share them by clicking on the upload photos button.
Pat
4:30 pm on Friday, April 20, 2012
All teenagers should be asked by their parents if they are aware of this dangerous game-:Cat and Mouse" before they have their children involved in an accident.
Teresa K.
9:34 pm on Friday, April 20, 2012
i hope they all have a speedy recovery.
Paul Sellman
8:09 am on Sunday, April 22, 2012
2nd try with better spelling... Remember they (the girls) made a choice. Do not take this out on all young drivers. My own children, both in their 30s now, were safe and reliable drivers at age 16. Your point about parent involvement is the most important.
jim
11:28 pm on Sunday, April 22, 2012
Sally I think all paul is trying to say is we don't know what really happened, they could have stepped on the gas instead of the break, a common and dangerous accident for inexperienced drivers. Have some respect for the families and officials who are certainly working hard on getting to the bottom of what happened! Nothing but rumors right now!
Paul Sellman
9:15 pm on Monday, April 23, 2012
What I am saying to Sally is: Do not penalize all young drivers because of the decision these young drivers made. There are many safe young and many unsafe older drivers. Parents need to take a role in teen driving safety to avoid tragedies like this one, and the one last year.
Al
12:09 pm on Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Sally, a knee jerk reaction is not what is needed in this case. It was a couple or several kids that made bad choices. Those bad choices were NOT made by the rest of the under 18 drivers so why should they be punished. There is not many things that disgust me more than the nanny state. People talk about freedom and rights but then on the other hand they want the government to protect us from ourselves which in my opinion is taking away our basic freedoms and rights. Was this a tragedy that should not be lightly, heck yes. Are there lessons to be learned, heck yes. Also tragedies like this have been happening as far back as I can remember and that goes back to late 50s. Remember there use to be a pretty popular game called chicken. Also if I remember correctly there is a law on the books that only allow one passenger in a car when the driver is under 18. Is that being enforced? Another thing Sally is that children and teens mature at different rates and there are teens out there are mature enough to handle the responsibility of driving. So because because of the mistakes of the few the majority should be punished? Personally for the last 20 or so years I have the driving skills of John Q Public seriously erode. If anything the way our children are being taught when it comes to driving is lacking at best. I think this all goes back to education or lack of it by teachers and/or parents as to how serious driving should be taken.
curseofthecuyahoga
7:05 am on Friday, June 22, 2012
Well said Paul and also everyone in the neighbourhood knows that "games" were being played and others not injured may have not received a good enough wake up call.
concernedkentmom
2:04 pm on Thursday, July 5, 2012
I live in this development where the crash occurred, only 1 car was speeding that day a black vw , only 1 car lost control, (because a jimmy johns delivery was in the other lane, they swerved to miss hitting it head on & that was the other reportedly indirectly involved)( the newspaper were making stories up that just weren't true no one was racing each other or playing cat & mouse) and almost hit children as they walked home from school. There were two black sports cars owned by female junior drivers at the high school an black audi & vw, that would go at high rates of speed directly after school was out. We called the police, other neighbors called the police because we knew this would happen. No other vehicles were directly or indirectly involved, we thank god our children were not hit by the car as it crashed and glad all the girls made a full recovery!
Logan
2:46 pm on Thursday, July 5, 2012
Sally, if you truly believe that the driving age should be raised to 18, then with your thought process are we going to create a maximum driving age at 60 seeing as many seniors are to blame for crashes as well? Just some food for thought...and remember always buckle up!