Support crosses county lines after two teenagers die in car crash

Before the game between Eastern Randolph and Eastern Alamance High School, a moment of silence was observed after two Eastern Randolph students were killed in a car accident.

ALAMANCE COUNTY, NC — Although Eastern Randolph and Eastern Alamance faced off in football action Friday.

The two schools came together to remember the young people who were injured and killed in a car accident in Ramseur on Thursday.

This pain is a deep one for the community of Eastern Randolph.

To mark the exciting start to the football season, a moment of silence was observed for four teenagers who were involved in a car accident. Two of them died. All four are students at Eastern Randolph High School.

Greg Smith attended the Eastern Randolph and Eastern Alamance game.

He graduated from Eastern Randolph in 1990 and has a son who played basketball with Mario Lara, one of the boys killed in the crash.

“It's a deep, deep loss. I mean, school starts again next week and you start, you know, with a loss,” Smith said.

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He said he was nearby at a junior team game at the time of the crash when a helicopter was constantly circling the area.

“We heard a helicopter, looked back and saw it coming back, and in the back of your mind you automatically thought, 'You know what's going on?'” Smith said.

As it turned out, the helicopter was supposed to take one of the victims to the hospital. News of the crash spread through the crowd.

“It began to dawn on me that something really, really tragic had happened in our community,” Smith said.

Katelyn Brown, a junior at Eastern Randolph University who was also at the game, can hardly comprehend the situation.

“It was just a shock, you know, a real wake-up call,” Brown said.

She said it made her see life differently. “You think, 'Damn, we're really growing up,' you know? Life goes by fast and you just have to live it one day at a time,” Brown said.

She said the Eastern Randolph community is ready to lend a helping hand to those most affected.

“We're a small town. We know everybody's business, whether you like us or not. If somebody has a problem, we're there to help, and you know, family is family,” Brown said.

Eastern Randolph defeated Eastern Alamance 29-0.

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