As far as the type of road, I really don't know much about it, as I don't frequent that area. It was on 72nd street. But even out in the rural/country areas the streets still go by street numbers.
My guess is that it is a rural residential area. If it was west or south of town, I might think it could be a country road. But north..... To me that area seems more populated.
One of the dead teen's mother works where I do. I know her by name, but that's about it. So I am sure thre will be more detailed talk about at work.
Not that where they were traveling 90 mph seesm to have made much of a difference. From what I understand, sounds like they were airborne. I have been told the car was in the trees, the engine was thrown from the car, as were all the boys.
Article:
It was past midnight, and the five teenage boys hadn't come home yet.
A makeshift memorial appeared Friday at the scene of a deadly car crash north of Omaha. Friends and family gathered near a tree that was sheared off when the car carrying five teens left the road.
Brian Brooks, one boy's father, was worried. His son always called if he was going to be late.
Laura Robinson, the stepmother of another, was driving home from work when an accident on 72nd Street slowed her down.
She called home to explain the delay to her husband, Scott. He rushed to the accident scene in a panic. Was that why his son wasn't home?
By then, two deputies were on their way to the Robinsons' house to deliver the grim news.
Seventeen-year-old Kenneth "KJ" Robinson of Fort Calhoun wasn't coming home.
Neither was 14-year-old Brian A. Brooks of Omaha.
Or Bryan Riggs, 15, of Fort Calhoun.
All three died Thursday night in the same accident that held up Laura Robinson in traffic.
The other two boys, 16-year-old Joseph S. Fitzgerald of Omaha and 15-year-old Anthony Wakefield of Omaha, suffered head injuries.
Fitzgerald's condition was not available. Wakefield was released Friday.
"He doesn't remember anything about the accident," said Brian L. Brooks, whose son Brian was one of Wakefield's best friends.
Wakefield is bruised, Brooks said, and can barely walk.
Fitzgerald was driving his mother's 1999 Toyota Camry Solara about 10 p.m. when it raced out of control and crashed into a grove of trees.
Their outing had begun after dinner, when Brian Brooks, Tony Wakefield and Joe Fitzgerald - buddies at Northwest High School - went to visit Tony's half brother, KJ Robinson.
But KJ was visiting Bryan Riggs, a longtime friend and classmate at Fort Calhoun High School. The five hooked up at KJ's house after KJ's dad called Bryan's house to say the other boys had come over.
They all piled into the Solara, which still had in-transit tags. Joe, who turned 16 on April 11 and got his license three days later, was driving.
Their stops included the Westroads Shopping Center, where one of KJ's cousins saw them about 8:30 p.m.
At some point, they headed north on 72nd Street, a popular route to Fort Calhoun.
About 10 p.m., a quarter-mile south of the Douglas-Washington County line, Kathryn King heard the muffled sounds of a car, followed by a thud.
"It just didn't sound right," she said.
The next sound - a person's voice - had King and her husband, David, running for flashlights.
"I heard one of the kids moaning, 'Help me,'" she said.
David King called 911, then rushed into the back yard of their home off 72nd Street and Northland Drive.
He and his wife found the Solara in pieces.
The car, which investigators later said was traveling at least 90 mph, had gone down a slippery, muddy bank and into bushes, cutting down two large trees. The back rested on one stump. Its engine and front tires had flown 150 feet into the woods.
The impact was strong enough to uproot a tree with a 2-foot-thick trunk.
Three of the boys were lying near each other outside the car, Kathryn King said. Two were dead; one was moaning.
The other two were walking around but confused, she said.
"They were talking. They didn't appear to know what was happening," King said. "I'm not sure they even knew there was an accident."
Investigators said that none of the boys was wearing a seat belt and that all had been ejected.
As Kathryn King, an intensive-care nurse, started tending to the injured, David King called 911 again for more rescuers.
Brian Brooks and Bryan Riggs died at the scene. KJ Robinson was flown to Creighton University Medical Center, where he later died.
Tony Wakefield and Joe Fitzgerald were taken to Creighton by ambulance.
The accident was still being cleaned up when Scott Robinson arrived.
After his son failed to come home, Robinson had called the home of KJ's friend Bryan Riggs.
Bryan's parents hadn't heard from the boys, either.
About the same time, Brian Brooks was wondering why his son hadn't come home.
"He always called if he was late," the father said. "He's always home by 10. I couldn't find him."
Because the 15-year-old didn't have identification on him, his family didn't find out what had happened until one of the two hospitalized boys regained consciousness and could name who had been in the car.
"I didn't find out until 5 a.m.," Brooks said. "We were up most of the night."
Funeral services are planned Monday for Brian Brooks and Tuesday for Bryan Riggs; the Robinson family was still making arrangements.
Families, friends, teachers and counselors remembered the boys Friday with fondness.
Counselors at Northwest High School described Brian Brooks, Tony Wakefield and Joe Fitzgerald as a loyal, spirited, determined bunch who could be found at lunchtime laughing at their regular spot.
Fort Calhoun High School officials described KJ Robinson as athletic, friendly and outgoing. Bryan Riggs, they said, was on the quiet side, but a good kid.
Riggs' family declined to be interviewed.
The Brooks and Robinson families shared memories of their lost sons.
Brian Brooks was born in Omaha. The family later moved to Dubuque, Iowa, and Fremont, Neb., before returning to Omaha.
He walked the two blocks to Northwest each day.
Brian was the second of three boys - between Nicholas, 16, and Joshua, 13.
He grew up in the shelter of family and friends, notably Tony Wakefield. Brian spent weekends in Lincoln, where Tony had lived, and Tony was like another son in the Brooks house.
Though short in stature, Brian was tall in dreams, strumming Nirvana covers on his electric guitar and practicing skateboarding moves every chance he got.
He attended rock concerts with his dad, getting on stage with the bands.
Brian didn't mind being the center of attention, whether it was showcasing a new skateboarding move or sporting a new hair color. The blond teenager experimented with red, purple and black.
"He was his own person," his dad said. "He wasn't afraid to do his thing. He knew what he wanted out of life."
KJ Robinson had a large presence - 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds - and a big heart, his father said.
The Fort Calhoun junior was a two-sport athlete. He played noseguard and tackle on the varsity football team and suited up with the junior varsity basketball team, even though his size made him a little slow, said his dad, laughing.
Jokes were KJ's forte.
He once went to school wearing his boxer shorts over his pants, then tried to convince his principal that he wasn't violating the dress code. And it wasn't out of the ordinary to find that he had turned the tabs around on every pop can in the refrigerator.
He would horse around with his brothers, 9-year-old Russell and 7-year-old Adam, and help them with homework. His 21/2-year-old sister, Kayann, would curl up in his lap for a nap.
His dad remembers KJ proudly checking the organ donor box on his driver's license application. His organs have been donated.
Both Northwest and Fort Calhoun High Schools had counselors available Friday, and a counseling room was ready at Fort Calhoun.
"Everybody likes them," said Jerry Barabas, Fort Calhoun's superintendent.
Jennifer Weeder, who spent part of Friday morning at the Brooks home, recalled how Brian, who would have turned 15 next month, was usually laughing.
"He was adorable," she said.
World-Herald staff writers Karyn Spencer and Jeffrey Robb contributed to this account.
