Updated: Friends gathered in the rain Sunday evening to pay their respects to three young lives lost in a tragic accident. Spenser Millard, 19, and Kellen Jones and Mike Turner, both 20, died when their vehicle smashed into a pole in a restaurant parking lot in Ballard.
“This is horrible,” said Mike, whose son is a friend of one of the victims. “It’s really going to shake this community up because all three boys are from Ballard.” Friends say the three are 2008 graduates of Ballard High School. Millard and Jones played football there and later helped coach the junior squad.
“They were electric,” said JB, who said he coached with them. “They were both great guys. I miss them.” Friends left flowers, photos, notes and a football at the base of the pole where the car collided early this morning. “It’s so sad. They were really good, really good kids,” said Laurie, whose sons knew all three of the victims. “All of the kids seem to stick together. They were a tight-knit group.”
Police say a 1986 Pontiac Firebird with four people inside was speeding westbound on Market when it struck the Taco Time sign just after 4:30 a.m. In addition to the three young men who died, a girl in her mid-teens was transported to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. Police say the girl was sitting in the backseat behind the driver.
The Taco Time sign, despite absorbing the full impact of the crash, was still standing. Police are still trying to determine who was driving and if alcohol was a factor. (Above photo is courtesy of My Ballard reader Kim.)
One woman who lives near the accident scene said this intersection is particularly dangerous, especially for speeders and pedestrians. “This intersection sneaks up on people,” she said. “I hear tires screeching all the time.”
The Traffic Collision Investigation Squad detectives took photos of the accident scene for several hours. The car was driving on a smaller spare tire (see above), but it’s unclear if it contributed to the high-speed accident. The Seattle Times reports that the victims loved muscle cars and planned to take them to the racetrack this summer. (This photo is courtesy of Robert Strauss).
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