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Fatal Accident Affects NY Dept.
(AP) FELTS MILLS, N.Y.
The sense of loss cut deep for firefighters in this tiny northern New York hamlet on Tuesday as they prepared to bury a fellow volunteer, an 18-year-old who was nearly eight months pregnant when she was killed in a fiery weekend crash that also took the lives of three other teenagers.
A funeral service was set for Thursday for Susan Melgar and her 14-year-old sister, Denise Yeman. Melgar, who was due to give birth June 26, recently joined her father, Budd Yeman, as a volunteer with the 28-member fire department.
"This has hit us real hard," Fire Chief Don Gill said. "It was kind of a family effort. When the Yemans were around, most of the time their daughters were around."
Gill said the girls frequently helped wash trucks and clean the fire station in the small town of about 300, located 90 miles north of Syracuse.
"They (Yemans) are pretty down right now. But they already told me that when they get over the healing process, they will be back responding. They're not going give it up, which is typical of the type of family they are," Gill said.
Troopers said Rebecca Besaw, 17, of Watertown, N.Y., was driving on Route 47 near Champion, N.Y., about 9:30 p.m. Saturday when she lost control, in part because she was going too fast. The SUV went off the road and hit a utility pole and tree.
Besaw and Melgar died at the scene, while Yeman died Saturday night at Good Samaritan Center. David Van Epps, 18, of Felts Mills, N.Y., was airlifted to Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, where he died Sunday night.
Tara Armer, 23, from Fort Drum, N.Y., and the vehicle's owner, was airlifted to a Syracuse hospital, where she remained in critical condition Tuesday.
Yeman, Van Epps and Armer were thrown from the vehicle's back seat.
John Peck described the sound of the crash outside his home as "like a plane crash."
"It was very bad. They were sailing," said Peck, who saw the burning wreckage when he looked out his window and called 911.
Peck said he has complained to Jefferson County officials for years about the condition of the road and speeding motorists.
"I keep telling them when you have a fatality, then you'll do something," he said.
Mourners have erected a makeshift memorial at the scene.
Melgar recently became a member of the Felts Mills department and worked as a customer service representative for a software services company. She had separated from her husband, Gill said.
Yeman was a ninth-grader at Carthage High School, where she participated in theater and arts and French club, was on the honor roll, and was a member of the Watertown High School swim team.
Funeral arrangements were not complete for Besaw and Van Epps.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The sense of loss cut deep for firefighters in this tiny northern New York hamlet on Tuesday as they prepared to bury a fellow volunteer, an 18-year-old who was nearly eight months pregnant when she was killed in a fiery weekend crash that also took the lives of three other teenagers.
A funeral service was set for Thursday for Susan Melgar and her 14-year-old sister, Denise Yeman. Melgar, who was due to give birth June 26, recently joined her father, Budd Yeman, as a volunteer with the 28-member fire department.
"This has hit us real hard," Fire Chief Don Gill said. "It was kind of a family effort. When the Yemans were around, most of the time their daughters were around."
Gill said the girls frequently helped wash trucks and clean the fire station in the small town of about 300, located 90 miles north of Syracuse.
"They (Yemans) are pretty down right now. But they already told me that when they get over the healing process, they will be back responding. They're not going give it up, which is typical of the type of family they are," Gill said.
Troopers said Rebecca Besaw, 17, of Watertown, N.Y., was driving on Route 47 near Champion, N.Y., about 9:30 p.m. Saturday when she lost control, in part because she was going too fast. The SUV went off the road and hit a utility pole and tree.
Besaw and Melgar died at the scene, while Yeman died Saturday night at Good Samaritan Center. David Van Epps, 18, of Felts Mills, N.Y., was airlifted to Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, where he died Sunday night.
Tara Armer, 23, from Fort Drum, N.Y., and the vehicle's owner, was airlifted to a Syracuse hospital, where she remained in critical condition Tuesday.
Yeman, Van Epps and Armer were thrown from the vehicle's back seat.
John Peck described the sound of the crash outside his home as "like a plane crash."
"It was very bad. They were sailing," said Peck, who saw the burning wreckage when he looked out his window and called 911.
Peck said he has complained to Jefferson County officials for years about the condition of the road and speeding motorists.
"I keep telling them when you have a fatality, then you'll do something," he said.
Mourners have erected a makeshift memorial at the scene.
Melgar recently became a member of the Felts Mills department and worked as a customer service representative for a software services company. She had separated from her husband, Gill said.
Yeman was a ninth-grader at Carthage High School, where she participated in theater and arts and French club, was on the honor roll, and was a member of the Watertown High School swim team.
Funeral arrangements were not complete for Besaw and Van Epps.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Permalink Reply by Fire Chick on
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R.I.P. thoughts and prayers are with everyone
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