Students mourn death of Brookfield teen in crash
By DARCIE LORENO Tribune ChronicleBROOKFIELD - The death of 16-year-old Alessa Norris left Brookfield High School staff and students shocked and devastated Monday after they learned of the Sunday crash that also injured student Joshua Thompson, 18.
A cheerleader, Norris' friends and their parents gushed about the eleventh-grader during a high school basketball game at the Chevrolet Centre Monday afternoon, Principal John Gravovac said.
"My cheerleaders are here and are pretty well saddened, but they're going to try to support the school and remember her," he said. "She was well-liked and well-respected in the school. I'm quite sure a lot of kids are really going to be upset."
He remembers teasing Norris about her cell phone, and said she'd always come to him with concerns and always had a smile on her face.
"She was a very nice young lady," he said.
According to the Warren Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Thompson, of Masury, was driving his 1995 Chevrolet Cavalier east on U.S. Route 62 about 11:25 p.m. Sunday when he lost control on a wet curve, went off the left side of the road into the median and struck a metal pole.
Norris was pronounced dead at the scene. Thompson was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center, where he was listed in satisfactory condition Monday.
Neither had on seat belts, and the crash is still under investigation, troopers said.
Gravovac said Thompson is a member of the school's Occupational Work Experience program.
Norris was on the school's cheerleading squad and a member of its Students Against Drunk Driving program, he said. Norris lived in Brookfield with her grandmother, Gravovac said.
The principal said he planned to say some words in her memory over the intercom this morning and said grief counselors will be on hand this week for students.
Superintendent Stephen Stohla said the accident was especially tragic because it's the second fatal traffic crash involving Brookfield students in eight months.
On May 26, junior Margaret Marmion of Masury was killed in an early morning crash on Longview Road in Shenango Township, Pa., that also injured seven other teens from Trumbull County and Pennsylvania when their car rolled over.
"Our kids are very nice at Brookfield," Stohla said. "Even though we're a small school, I'm sure the kids are going to be devastated again.
"This is the toughest part of any school job," Stohla said. "The second time in two years, it's really rough."
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smokey
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01-21-09 1:39 PM
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prayers to the family and friends.. and all i can say is wow billdog,,,
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Billdog
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01-21-09 10:14 AM
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Karrilyn do you want to rub their little belly and pat them on the head too? This is what is the matter with the kids. Always everything is so dramatic and all the cuddling to a point they are all on anti-depressents, Anti-anxiety, anti-psycotic medications because they think that it isn't life and they are in some horror movie. Part of life is that death is real and happens. I never said tell them to be strong or tough. They do need to understand that life and death are real and that the world does keep moving once a friend or family member passes on. Sh-t happens and you need to move on. Grow up.
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kate23
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01-20-09 8:34 PM
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RIP baby girl<3 i know you are up there watching over me.i miss you soo much lele. maggie same goes for you,god needed a hero,and he chose a great one.miss yoou mags<3
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Karrilyn
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01-20-09 4:25 PM
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Billdog, the counselors may not charge the school, who knows. I think it is good that the schools has the grief counselors. Teenagers are no longer children and not yet adults, coping with the death of a friend will be difficult. It is better to have someone with experience help those in need rather than the kids being told to "be strong".
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Billdog
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01-20-09 3:03 PM
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Devastated, just devastated. It sounds like the adults are the ones that need counseling.
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Billdog
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01-20-09 1:18 PM
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Why do all these schools think that counseling is required everytime one of their students pass gas? If the kid is that upset the parents shouldn't send them to school. Do these agencies bill the parents, or the parents insurance? I don't recall this when I was in school. We has a student commit suicide, 4 killed in a car wreck, and no counseling agency was at the school and everyone seemed to manage. Just sounds like a bit to much to me.
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pahootaman
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01-20-09 8:29 AM
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Seatbelts seatbelts seatbelts. Learn it, love it, live it.
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gistol
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01-20-09 8:16 AM
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What a shame. God Bless her family during this difficult time.
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