Reagan Moss, 17, (pictured above, center), his girlfriend Mandy Baker,17, (pictured above, right) and Amanda Hamm, 15, (not pictured) werekilled in the accident.
Baker's 15-year-old sister, Deborah Baker, was airlifted fromthe scene to Duke Medical Center, where she underwent surgery. As ofFriday evening, she was listed in serious condition in the PediatricIntensive Care Unit.
Students were offered the services of a counselor at school Thursday,and were allowed to leave school if they were distraught by the newsofheir fellow students' deaths. By late afternoon, a makeshift memorialhadbeen arranged at the foot of Turkey Creek bridge, the site of theaccident.
That area has reportedly been the scene of many accidents over theyears. Some of those gathered at the site Thursday evening were there toremember other people who were killed in similar accidents.
Police say obstructed vision was the cause of the crash because brightsunlight prevented the driver from seeing the bridge. While none of thefour students were wearing seatbelts, police say they were not speeding.
Assistant Fire Chief Chris Bantley says there are many accidents at that spot, and that rescue workers have come to expect calls about them.
The principal of Southern Nash High says students, teachers and staffare in a state of shock.
Friends of the accident victims visited the bridge Thursday afternoon,some bringing flowers or ribbons to place at the site.
Heidi Naroben (below, left) and Cathy Jones (below, right), bothfriends of the victims, said they couldn't believe what had happened.
Counselors say it will take quite some time for the close=knit schoolcommunity to get over the trauma of losing these students.
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