Bedford teen killed in motor vehicle incident
More than 20 bouquets of flowers, many mementos, empty beer cans and an American flag encircled a utility pole on Wallace Road in Bedford on Monday afternoon.
It marked the scene of yet another tragedy — the third time in 49 days that a teenager was killed in a motor vehicle incident in town.
This time, a Bedford High School junior — a boy on the precipice of ascending to his senior year — died Sunday night in an incident with few details made public.
The name of the boy has not been released and police are still investigating what happened.
At 8:15 p.m., Bedford officers responded to a report of a person jumping out of a moving vehicle near Stagecoach Lane. The boy was taken to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Bedford High Principal Bob Jozokos sent a letter to parents first thing Monday, informing them that a student had died and offering help to students who would struggle with the news, which mourners said has become too common in Bedford.
'Why does this keep happening here?' one mourner said at the scene Monday afternoon while wiping tears and hugging her friend.
The town suffered a similar loss on April 20 when resident Lauren Souza, a 16-year-old Trinity High School junior, was killed in a crash early Easter morning. On May 28, a Manchester 13-year-old died in a crash at the Kilton Road exit off Route 101.
For about 100 or so students who intermittently gathered where their classmate was killed, there were more questions than answers. Most didn't want to talk. Those who did, didn't want their names in the paper.
Everyone was shaken.
'He was the light of every room he was in,' said a female classmate. 'There wasn't a single person he wasn't friends with.'
The girl and her friend were there when the victim's best friend arrived around 4:30 p.m. He, too, was still processing the news and unable to talk.
About three hours earlier, a much larger contingent of mourners paid their respects, attaching dollar bills and a T-shirt to the utility pole. They gathered. They laughed. They cried. They shared stories.
One young man who identified himself as the victim's brother asked for privacy. Others said they would love to share stories of their friend at another time when the sense of shock had cleared.
And then, one by one, they reluctantly left the scene.
Cars came and went like that all afternoon, just two days after the latest class of seniors celebrated at graduation.
Bedford investigators determined the victim was a passenger of a car, but would not provide additional details. Residents of Bedford and surrounding towns speculated on social media platforms like Facebook as to who the boy was and how he died. Emotions and blame ran high.
But still, there were no official answers.
Anyone who may have seen anything on Wallace Road leading up to this incident can call the Bedford Police Department at 603-472-5113.
dpierce@unionleader.com
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