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WYALUSING TWP. — It was a sad start to the school year at Wyalusing Valley High School as faculty, friends and the senior class mourned the loss of Brendan Tyler Hall, 18, who was tragically killed in the crash that occurred along Route 706 in Wyalusing Township on Saturday evening, Aug. 29.
The crash took the lives of two well liked teens, Hall and Colin Michael Flynn, 18, of Towanda, and injured three others.
For the second year in a row, a senior has died during summer break before classes begin. Wyalusing Valley High School has now lost a student to tragedy three out of the past four years, primarily due to vehicle accidents, according to Superintendent Chester Mummau.
“It’s just a terrible thing to lose a student and a classmate under any circumstance. A lot of relatives and friends will forever be affected by this,” said Mummau.
Describing the mood of faculty meetings on Monday and the start of school on Tuesday, Sept. 1, the superintendent said it was “very somber throughout.”
Grief counselors were available to students on Monday and Tuesday. A special senior meeting was also held Tuesday morning to console students and pay respects to their fellow classmate.
The horrific collision occurred roughly a half-mile east of the Route 706 intersection with Route 409 in Camptown.
Troy Aaron Stone, 19, Wyalusing, was driving the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado pickup and reportedly crossed over the center line while headed eastbound, trying to pass another vehicle.
Stone’s vehicle slammed head-on into a 2004 Subaru Outback, driven by Staci Lynn Short, 33, Wyalusing. Short’s station wagon spun clockwise into the eastbound lane while Stone’s truck left the north shoulder of the roadway and struck several trees before coming to a final rest down an embankment.
Stone was traveling with three passengers, including Hall, Flynn and Kara Jean Johnson, 20, of Towanda.
Johnson, Stone and Short were transported to Robert Packer Hospital for treatment from injuries suffered in the crash. Johnson and Stone were taken via helicopter. While Short was coherent and recovering in the hospital, Johnson was taken to another facility for further treatment of serious injuries.
A preliminary investigation revealed that Stone was speeding and had consumed alcoholic beverages. The investigation is ongoing and Stone has not yet been charged or arrested.
Assisting at the scene were the Wyalusing Fire and Rescue Unit, Wysox Fire Company and HOPS Ambulance.
