MIDDLEBURG, Fla. — Teachers and friends are mourning the loss of two Middleburg teens who died in a crash Friday.
Luke Kennedy, 16, and Parker Rowley, 17, were described as each other's best friend and were even neighbors, classmates told First Coast News.
Both had at one time attended St. Johns Classical Academy together. Rowley remained at the school and Kennedy transferred to Ridgeview High School, friends and teachers said.
“It was my honor to be their teacher,” said Robin Seigers, a teacher at St. Johns Classical Academy. “Parker was kind and funny. Everyone liked him.”
Kennedy liked carpentry and was skilled at making wooden bowls and pens, his teacher said. He also had a sense of humor.
“Luke was funny and wanted to make people laugh,” Seigers said.
The teacher said students have found a unique way to remember their classmates.
"Several of the kids have decorated Parker’s seat. Several of the kids are carrying watermelons in remembrance of Luke," she said. "He ate a [whole] watermelon with a fork once. He was funny. He liked to do things like that.”
Classmates said the two were visiting friends and had gone to St. Augustine to get tacos the night of the crash.
Friend and classmate of the two teens, Lauren Sawyer, told First Coast News, "They were in a way, saying their goodbyes… without saying their goodbyes. That's what it felt like."
The Florida Highway Patrol said the teens were traveling west in a sedan on State Road 16 as a pickup truck was traveling on South Francis Road attempting to enter onto State Road 16, according to the FHP report.
FHP said the front of the boy's car and the front of the pickup truck collided.
The St. Augustine woman driving the truck was OK, FHP said.
School administrators at St. Johns Classical Academy said they're planning a vigil for both teens at Pinewood Presbyterian Church in Middleburg Monday at 7 p.m. A fundraiser for the teens' families can be found here.
“Today is hard. [The students] know they’ll never be here again," Seigers said. "We have an 11th grade class of 23 students. They were an integral part of our community.”
A spokesperson with the Clay County School District said grief counselors will be available for students this week at Ridgeview High School as well.
(Editor's note: This story has been changed to reflect an updated report from FHP. The initial report said the driver of the car violated the truck's right of way. The update says the investigation continues.)