UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo.—Authorities have released the identities of three 15-year-old boys who died when the car one of them was driving slammed into a vacant brick home in University City Wednesday.
The victims attended Ladue Horton Watkins High School and all were from Olivette.
• Deion Robinson, 15, of the 9300 block of Rothwell Heights Lane
• Johnnie Ursery, 15, of the 9500 block of Laguna Drive
• Demetrius Ingram, 15, of the 9300 block of Rothwell Heights Lane
A small memorial is growing at the site of the crash on Groby Road. Friends left stuffed animals, flowers and candles at the site.
Ladue Schools released a statement saying, "It is with profound sadness that we learned of the news that three of our high school students were involved in a fatal automobile accident. While many details surrounding this heartbreaking incident remain unclear, we hold the families of our students in our thoughts."
The district says grief counselors and our district crisis intervention team are in place to support our students and staff today and throughout the coming week.
The parent of a Ladue High student at the scene Thursday morning said his son had class with one of the teens and commented it was strange to see the student’s seat empty.
Police said the 2016 Hyundai Accent involved in the accident Wednesday morning was owned by the driver's mother, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. The Missouri State Highway Patrol report said the car was “traveling too fast for conditions” when it failed to make a curve and crashed into the home in University City, Missouri. The crash was reported around 6:30 a.m.
The legal driving age in Missouri is 16. Fifteen-year-olds can obtain a permit allowing them to drive, but only with a licensed adult in the vehicle.
University City police asked the highway patrol to handle the investigation. Patrol Cpl. Dallas Thompson said police had tried hours earlier to pull over a car similar to the one that struck the house, but lost sight of it. They were searching for the car prior to the accident.
St. Louis Alderman Sharon Tyus, who came to the house after the crash, said she and her husband bought it a few years ago and were renovating it with plans to rent it out.