2 Westlake High Students, Both 17, Die After Car Plunges 150 Feet

Two Westlake High School seniors--an honors student and a former athlete--were killed late Monday after their car veered off a winding mountain road and plunged 150 feet down a hillside, authorities reported.

Frederick Krumm and Clint Raynor, both 17, were pronounced dead at the scene after Raynor apparently drove his 1987 Camaro into a signpost while trying to pass two cars on Decker Road five miles south of Westlake Village, the California Highway Patrol said Tuesday.

A 16-year-old passenger, Michael Sharkey, was seriously injured and remained in critical condition at Westlake Medical Center late Tuesday.

Raynor’s car, which landed on its roof, was “completely crushed,” CHP Officer Scott Clamp said. The youths were apparently wearing seat belts and were not thrown free, he said.

Investigators said there was no indication that Raynor was intoxicated.

Ronda Raynor said her son and his friends were apparently headed home from the beach when the accident occurred at 11:15 p.m. Monday. She said she had warned her son many times against driving the narrow, two-lane road, which snakes from the Westlake area to Pacific Coast Highway south of Leo Carrillo State Beach.

“I’ve been over it before, and it scared me,” she said.

Students and teachers said Krumm and Raynor were well-liked at Westlake High. Raynor played junior varsity baseball in his freshman and sophomore years, and his twin brother, Brent, was a shortstop for the varsity team this spring.

Krumm was a good student who consistently placed on the school’s honor roll and was taking college preparatory courses.

“He was a very conscientious young man--quiet, soft-spoken and diligent,” said William Csellak, Krumm’s English teacher last year. “It’s definitely a tragedy.”

Brady Ferron, 18, a student assistant to Csellak, said Krumm was respected by his fellow students. “He was a real quiet, nice guy,” Ferron said. His scores on vocabulary tests were usually so high, “we used to use his papers as a grading key.”

Bill Culpepper, assistant varsity football coach, said Krumm was a good athlete as well.

In his sophomore year, Krumm played cornerback on the junior varsity team, while earning nearly straight A’s, Culpepper said. He was an occasional star. Once he turned an apparent loss against Royal High School in Simi Valley into a win by intercepting two passes, the coach said.

The accident shocked members of the football team who knew Krumm, Culpepper said. “We were saddened and distraught by it,” he said.

Until Monday’s accident, Westlake High School had counted itself lucky because no student died in car accidents during the last school year, Principal Curt Luft said.

“We were telling the staff in June that we were lucky we weren’t hit,” he said. “And now this tragedy.”

Times staff writer Adrianne Goodman contributed to this story.