12 Bonfire Collapse Victims Mourned at Church Services
Classmates, families and friends gathered in churches Sunday, quietly sobbing and praying for the 12 people killed when a four-story pyramid of logs collapsed at Texas A&M; University.
At A&M; United Methodist Church, a youth minister recited the names of the dead. A man and a woman lit 12 small white candles. Tim Kerlee Jr., who often attended the church, was one of the victims.
Local, state and federal officials planned to meet today to map out an investigation strategy.
Three of the victims were buried Sunday. Jamie Hand, 19, an environmental design major and artist who sang at her church, was buried near her home in Henderson. In Austin, services were held for Christopher Breen, 25, an A&M; graduate who had returned to help pass on the bonfire traditions.
In Katy, near Houston, a funeral was held for Christopher Lee Heard, 19, a preengineering major.
At First Baptist Church in Bryan, about 50 students knelt around the altar and prayed. At least eight of the students killed in the accident attended the church in the last month, said minister Tim Owens.
Seven people remained hospitalized Sunday, two in critical condition.
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