Harnett Co. reels after crash that killed two students
DUNN (WTVD) -- Along a rural Harnett County road, flowers are now lying at the base of an oak tree where two high school students were killed in a horrific crash.
The accident happened Tuesday night on Ash Avenue.
They were 16-year-old Kirby Preston Wood, of Dunn, and 18-year-old Kzon Crenshaw, of Erwin.
Both victims were students at Triton High School and were best friends.
Family members are distraught and can't get images of the wreck out of their minds.
"I tried to walk over there and I couldn't. I couldn't do it," said Wood's cousin Nicole Whittington.
The NC Highway Patrol said Wood was driving and going way too fast. Troopers believe the teen was going approximately 80 mph around a curve.
The Highway Patrol said Wood was trying to pass a car, lost control, and slammed into two trees. His yellow Ford Mustang was split in two from the violent impact.
"I can see the wreck. I can see both him and Kzon losing their ability to breathe on impact. I can see Preston laying there on the ground, he was thrown from the vehicle. And I know my cousin's gone," Whittington said.
Wood was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene. Crenshaw was wearing a seatbelt, officials said. He passed away at WakeMed Hospital.
Friends and classmates have been coming by the crash scene to leave flowers and console one another.
"They was always together, always," said Wood's cousin Kyle Faircloth.
Folks who knew the victims think they were heading out to grab dinner,
Wood was a junior at Triton High school. Crenshaw was a senior and getting ready to graduate this weekend. He had planned to attend Advanced Technology Institute in Virginia this fall.
"It's been a hard week for the students and staff, especially to end school year," said Harnett County Schools spokesperson Patricia Harmon-Lewis. "It's supposed to be a happy time; when everybody is celebrating the end of the school year, not in mourning over the loss of people."
Crenshaw was known as a fighter -- he overcome a big obstacle a few years back.
"He was a little survivor," Whittington said. "Kzon had cancer. He survived it. He pushed through."
RELATED: AAA: Summer 'deadliest days' for teens
Classmates are bracing to attend Kzon and Preston's funerals.
"I still don't know how to take it. It still don't seem real yet," said their friend Dakota Hodge.
Triton will hold its graduation ceremony Saturday afternoon at Campbell University. There will be a tribute at the beginning of the service for the victims.
Crenshaw's family will be accepting his diploma posthumously.
