UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. — Three 15-year-old boys died in a crash into a vacant home in University City, Missouri, Wednesday morning.
Cpl. Dallas Thompson with the Missouri State Highway Patrol said all three of the boys were inside the car that crashed into a home on Groby Road near Mulberry Lane at about 7 a.m.
The St. Louis County Medical Examiner's Office identified the boys as Deion Robinson, Johnnie Ursery and Demetrius Ingram, all of Olivette.
According to a crash report from MSHP, the Hyundai Accent was traveling eastbound on Groby Avenue, east of Gay Avenue. The vehicle was traveling too fast for the conditions and the driver did not negotiate a left curve.
The Hyundai traveled off the right side of the roadway, damaged the front of the vehicle and struck the house. Thompson said the house was vacant.
All three boys were pronounced dead at the scene, the report said.
A spokeswoman with the Ladue School District confirmed that the boys were students at Ladue High School. She said the district would have crisis intervention teams and school counselors deployed throughout the district in response to the crash.
The Ladue School District released a statement following the crash:
"It is with profound sadness that we learned of the news that three of our high school students were involved in a fatal automobile accident this morning. While many details surrounding this heartbreaking incident remain unclear, we hold the families of our students in our thoughts.
"In response to this tragedy, grief counselors and our district crisis intervention team are in place to support our students and staff today and throughout the coming week, as the well-being of our students and staff remains our highest priority."
In a Wednesday afternoon interview, superintendent Dr. Jim Wipke addressed the incident.
"It's a horrific event and it is a tragedy. Our hearts go out to the families. It's a very difficult time for them," Wipke said.
The superintendent said he spoke with the families of all three boys and said the district would support them.
Wipke said the school will continue to have internal support including its Social and Behavioral Team, grief counselors and crisis intervention team for students and staff who may need support.
"We all grieve differently and our support teams will be here today, tomorrow and in the coming weeks," he said.
The boys are believed to have been friends, MSHP said.
MSHP confirmed Wednesday afternoon that the Hyundai belonged to the parents of one of the teens.
Construction crews were seen repairing the damage on Wednesday and placing boards to cover up the crash site.
The home is owned by St. Louis Alderwoman Sharon Tyus.
Tyus sponsored an ordinance herself for speed humps in her own ward and stated she had reached out to University City officials to lend her voice.
"What we don't want to happen is another life young or old because they come around that curve and it doesn't have to be speeding. it could have been ice or anything like that. It's dangerous," she said.
Joseph Baker was one of the people who came to the crash site on Wednesday evening to make a memorial. He placed a tarp and teddy bears for the community to pay their respects.
"I just felt really moved, I wanted to put something up so people could pay their condolences for the people who passed today," said Baker, a Ladue High School student.
“I just wanted to do a little something,” said 11th grader Baker.
It was “something” Baker never ever imagined he’d ever have to do.
Baker and a family friend of one of the deceased boys confirm the three friends were all sophomores.
Firefighters, police and the Missouri State Highway Patrol were on the scene of the crash to investigate.
First responders on the scene of the crash were seen putting up sheets and tarps around the crash scene.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol was requested to handle the crash investigation.
Deion Robinson's mother started a GoFundMe page to help with funeral costs. A GoFundMe page was also set up to cover Johnnie Ursery's funeral costs and help give his parents time to grieve his death.