High school students in Fairfax County, Virginia, are trying to cope with the loss of a fellow classmate killed in a serious crash.
Conner McGowan, a 17-year-old student at Robinson Secondary School, died after police say he sped, lost control of his Jeep and crashed into a tree on Fairfax Station Road.
Two other teenagers also were injured in the crash in Clifton.
A 15-year-old boy remains in a hospital and is fighting for his life, while a 14-year-old girl was treated and released.
"I’m like wow, that could have been me. That could have been one of my sisters. It's scary," student Madeline Cleary told News4.
"When I saw that kid died, I was like, oh my gosh. I really need to, like, consider how dangerous these roads are when you’re driving on them. Sometimes you just don’t really realize how fast you’re going," student Samantha Kachinski said.
Grief counselors came to Robinson for a second day on Thursday to support students mourning McGowan.
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On Wednesday night, McGowan's family and friends gathered at a church to pray.
"I’m really sad. I’ve known him most of my life," McGowan's friend, Bennett Wyant, said. "He was always one of my good friends in school. We would always, like, do homework together and right now I just can't really comprehend it. Like, I just can’t believe he’s gone."
After the church vigil, students met up on the football field at Robison to remember their friend and prayed for their other classmate to pull through.
"I mean, it’s really sad. He was so young. He was going to be going to college soon and he, like, had a future," Kachinski said.
