Hundreds honor four Mainland High athletes killed in auto crash

LINWOOD, N.J. - A high school football field built to showcase teenage athletes was used on Sunday night to memorialize four of them.

Several hundred people gathered for a candlelight vigil at Mainland Regional High School for four Mainland football players who were killed in an automobile accident Saturday on the Garden State Parkway.

Mainland coach Bob Coffey fought back tears in addressing the crowd as enlarged photos of Casey Brenner, Edgar Bozzi, Nick Conner, and Dean Khoury - in their football jerseys - sat on wooden stands in front of four potted palm trees at the 50-yard line.

"So many people want to know what they can do," Coffey said to a crowd that filled the home bleachers and stretched around the field to both end zones. "Just be here. Just support us."

Wearing their kelly-green jerseys for the ceremony, Mainland players followed a motorcycle police escort from their locker room to the field, known as the "Mustang Corral." The players walked in double file, holding hands and chanting, "Raise your eyes up to the sky, Mustangs now are passing by," before breaking into a run and racing to midfield.

"People need to be with people," Mainland Superintendent Thomas Baruffi said before the ceremony. "That's what tonight is all about."

Around 6 p.m., officials considered moving the event to the school cafeteria as rain fell. But the skies cleared as hundreds of spectators made their way to the field, off Route 9 in this Atlantic County community.

Included were 15 to 20 players and coaches, in matching blue T-shirts, from the football team at Holy Spirit, a fierce rival of Mainland's in the Cape-Atlantic League.

About an hour before the 8 p.m. start of the ceremony, Mainland's players gathered around the photos of their four teammates who were killed, then made their way into the stands to exchange handshakes and hugs with the Holy Spirit players.

The crowd appeared to include hundreds of Mainland students, mainly in green or black school regalia. One youngster wore a white T-shirt with "Mustangs Stick Together" on the front and "Never Forget" on the back, along with the names of the four victims.

The crash occurred around 11:45 a.m. Saturday as the crowded SUV, headed south, went over a crest in the road and encountered heavy traffic backed up behind the ramp at Exit 38A, near Atlantic City, state police said.

The driver, 17-year-old Brenner, of Northfield, apparently tried to steer clear of the traffic but lost control of the vehicle, said Sgt. Julian Castellanos, a state police spokesman.

It rolled over several times, crossing the highway's right lane, the shoulder, and the exit lane before stopping, Castellanos said.

Three of the teammates died at the scene, and a fourth died at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center-City Division in Atlantic City.

Brenner was among the fatalities, along with Bozzi, 16, of Somers Point, Conner, 16, of Northfield, and Khoury, 15, of Linwood.

The four other teenagers were taken to the hospital with injuries, and three had been released by Sunday afternoon.

Injuries to the fourth were described as non-life-threatening.

The injured athletes were identified as Jacob Smith, 17, and Kenneth Randall, 15, both of Linwood, and Kyle Beattie, 16, and Alex Denafo, 16, both of Northfield.

A hospital nurse said she was not authorized to provide any information about the boy who remained hospitalized.

Asked about the number of passengers in the SUV, Castellanos referred reporters to a state website that spells out terms of the state's Graduated Driver License program.

The program permits drivers younger than 18 to carry parents, guardians or dependents, but only one additional unrelated passenger, unless accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Baruffi, the superintendent, described the players as "an extremely close-knit group - and we're not just saying that because of what happened."

Cape-Atlantic League coaches and players vowed to rally around Mainland.

"Our heart is hurting for them," said Egg Harbor Township coach Tony DeRosa, whose team plays an annual Thanksgiving game against Mainland. "It's every coach's worst nightmare, every parent's worst nightmare, every teammate's worst nightmare."

Holy Spirit coach Chalie Roman said: "It's just hard to believe. Everybody is just walking around numb."

Holy Spirit senior linebacker Ethan Gambale said several of his teammates were supposed to hang out with some of the Mainland players, including those who were killed, on Saturday night.

"I guess it shows you can't take life for granted," said Gambale, promising to dedicate his team's season to the victims. "Every day is not promised to you. It's going to be so strange when we play those guys, because those kids are not going to be there."

DeRosa expressed his concern for Mainland coach Coffey.

"You don't find out how to deal with something like this in a coach's handbook," DeRosa said. "There's no manual. There's no clinic you can attend."

After the ceremony, Coffey said the outpouring of support from the community had overwhelmed him.

"We've got a lot of love here, and we're going to need it," Coffey said. "We've got to take it day by day, even minute by minute."