Teens Killed in Crash Memorialized

At a memorial service Wednesday at Saugus High School, friends of two student athletes killed in a car accident this week honored their memories and sounded a warning to their classmates about reckless driving.

An hour after taking their semester final exams, more than 1,000 students gathered in the gym, many wearing Mardi Gras beads like the ones Sheldon Bell and Robert Smith favored, others in bright red T-shirts that Robert liked.

Robert and Sheldon, both 17-year-old seniors, died Sunday in a car accident while reportedly speeding on Bouquet Canyon Road in Saugus.

Authorities said Robert lost control of his Ford Mustang, which jumped the median and spun before ramming the backyard retaining wall of a house. Sheldon died at the scene; Robert died later at a hospital.

To counter a report by authorities that Robert did not have a California driver’s license, friends brought copies of his license to the memorial service.

Most of the students who spoke at the hourlong service--which also memorialized freshman Daniel Lieberman, killed in a motorcycle accident Jan. 1--honored their friends with poems or anecdotes.

“I’ll never forget the bright smiles he had on his face,” Ryan Dabis, 18, said of Sheldon, his best friend of 12 years. “He always pushed people to do their best.”

Patrick Dietz, 17, remembered Robert as a loyal friend.

“When they pulled the sheet back, I saw my best friend there, lifeless,” said Patrick, who identified Robert’s body at the hospital. “I dropped to my knees and asked why this had to happen. I hugged him and kissed him on the forehead and wished that he could give me one more hug.”

Brandon McCullough, 17, said Robert insisted on going bowling every weekend but never really learned the sport.

“Every time he’d throw the ball, it would fly up in the air first, then it would only hit maybe one pin,” Brandon said. “He was always my partner. We never won.”

Ryan said his classmates’ deaths should serve as a warning.

“Everyone thinks they’re invincible and nothing will happen to them,” he said. “That’s what Robert and Sheldon thought. It happened to them.”