Friends and Family Come Together in Memory of Liverpool Teen

Christine Pitawanich / NCC News

5/26/2010

Bridgeport, NY – A vigil for 17-year-old Victoria Deverso of Liverpool is set to begin at 7pm. It will be held on Route 31 in Bridgeport at the crash site where she was killed on Monday. Hundreds of students are expected to attend.

Little Reminders

Though it has been a couple days since the accident, the light smell of gasoline lingers in the air near the site. Skid marks are still visible on the road. Shards of glass, metal, and fragments of a demolished car lay scattered around two hand-made crosses, put up in memory of Deverso. All are somber reminders that life is too short.

“It’s only here”

Even Michael Latzkowski, owner of Bridgeport Lawn and Garden Repair, built a cross so more people could share their memories and condolences. Latzkowski’s shop is located just a few steps away from the crash site. He was there a couple hours after the accident and watched authorities take the mangled cars away; he wasn’t surprised that the dangerous road took another life.

“This happens five times per year […] It’s definitely that corner. It’s only here and it’s only when people are going really fast,” said Latzkowski.

Some people living in the area are livid about the accidents that seem to keep occurring along the same stretch of road. A resident of Bridgeport said this was the third fatal accident since the first of the year and another crash is inevitable.

Adjustments at Liverpool High School

At Liverpool High, a mock DWI (driving while intoxicated) car wreck demonstration was postponed. On Tuesday, School officials said going through with the demonstration as planned would hit too close to home, so they decided to move it from this week to next week.

“One of the things we’re very concerned with [is] not only making our young people responsible citizens and taking responsibility for all of their acts but to be safe and be healthy,” said Liverpool Superintendent Dr. Richard Johns.

21^st Century Grieving

In addition to the vigil tonight, students have created a Facebook page for Deverso.

“I think that’s how they grieve now,” began Assistant Superintendent Dr. Maureen Patterson. “They grieve by communicating with each other, with photos, with words, with text as opposed to maybe verbalizing with each other. If they can find some sanity in that for themselves, that’s important,” she concluded.

Victoria Deverso was killed while riding as a passenger with 18-year-old Chelsea Kuss of Syracuse. The accident happened as they were driving westbound on Route 31. Kuss tried to pass a car and ran head-on into 38-year-old Peggy Blume. Currently, Kuss is in critical condition at University Hospital and Blume, who is also at University Hospital, is in serious condition.

Below is a short video of Michael Latzkowski talking about the accident aftermath and the reputation surrounding the small segment of road.