Two Raleigh 8th graders among 5 teens killed in crash on Capital Boulevard
Two Raleigh 8th graders were among the five boys killed Sunday morning in a single-vehicle crash on Capital Boulevard in Raleigh, according to Wake County Public Schools.
The five boys were all teenagers, the youngest just 13 years old, police had said Monday.
The crash occurred on Capital Boulevard near Fairview Road at about 6:15 a.m. Sunday, Raleigh police said.
Laura Hourigan, a spokeswoman for Raleigh police, said the vehicle was heading downtown “when it ran off the road to the right and struck a concrete bridge abutment.”
In addition to the 13-year-old, two of the boys killed were 14 and two were 17.
Police are still working on the accident report and have not released the names of those who died.
One of those killed was Zymeer Dennis, 14, a ninth grader at Wake Forest High School, according to an email Principal Patti Hamler sent to parents.
Hamler advised parents that counseling services are available for students.
“These are heavy moments that we will work through together,” she said in the email. “In the spirit of honoring Zymeer, please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.”
Jeremiah Williams, a 17-year-old student at Lumberton Senior High School in Robeson County, was also killed in the crash, according to Principal Larry Brooks.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Williams family during their time of bereavement,” he said. “Jeremiah will be forever remembered as a part of Pirate Nation.”
Two 8th grade students in Raleigh, Maikeal Freeman and Lebron Staton, were among the others who died in the crash, a Wake County Public School System spokesperson confirmed.
Freeman attended Carroll Magnet Middle School, while Staton was a student at Ligon Magnet Middle School.
None of the five boys were wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, Hourigan said.
Speed was a factor in the crash, with the vehicle traveling at an estimated 80 mph, she added.
It was the second deadly wreck in Wake County on Sunday morning. Roughly four hours earlier, Knightdale police Officer Ryan Hayworth, 23, died after a driver crashed into two stationary police cars parked on Interstate 540 as officers investigated an accident.
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This story was originally published October 17, 2021 at 5:55 PM.