SueM 10 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 As 2Eagle mention..the woman in the car ahead was in his patrol..I was their patrol guide. I got a note from her last night..she is devastated! She did everything she could to try and save them..only the leaders' son survived. I also had the leader who was killed in the last NLE class I was on staff for in March...he was an ex-marine who had survived the attacks in Beirut! Please keep them all in your prayers and thoughts. Sue M. Link to post Share on other sites
scoutldr 732 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 The latest news reports are that the leader's son, Michael John Oliver, 12, suffered two broken legs and was able to drag himself from the burning wreckage. He is in the hospital and is expected to recover. Memorial services and funerals begin today for the three Boy Scouts and Scout leader who died in a wreck Sunday in Southampton County. Fourteen-year-old Carter Thomas Stephenson will be honored at 3 p.m. today at High Street United Methodist Church in Franklin. A memorial service for Jackson Fox, 13, has been arranged for 11 a.m. Thursday at Capron United Methodist Church in Capron. The funeral service for Luke Drewry, 12, is set for 2 p.m. Thursday at Courtland Baptist Church in Courtland. John Oliver, 43, will be honored at an 11 a.m. service Monday at the High Street United Methodist Church in Franklin. The families have requested that Scouts and Scouters attend in uniform if possible. A fund to support the families has been established at the Colonial Virginia Council, ATTN: Troop 17 Fund. Link to post Share on other sites
scoutldr 732 Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 This was in today's paper: http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=115417&ran=77678 The neighboring council, Tidewater, held a weekend popcorn sale with all proceeds going to the families of Troop 17. Over $20,000 was raised and presented to the families from their extended scouting family. Link to post Share on other sites
oldsm 10 Posted December 4, 2006 Share Posted December 4, 2006 What a sensitive article. I drove through Franklin on Labor Day weekend. Having been there made this whole thing seem somehow more real to me when I first read about it. My prayers are with the families who have lost so much. This article should become required reading for all new leader training courses. We pay lip service to vehicle safety and what BSA regs are. This account most definitely drives home the impact on the families who entrust their sons to us. In a time when we are bombarded constantly with headline reports about accidents and various crimes, the lasting effects are almost never explored. Yet I believe that the long-term repercussions are the most significant. I read this article with tears in my eyes - probably more than when I read the original reports. Link to post Share on other sites
Fuzzy Bear 12 Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 Once again, tears. Words only compel us to seek reason, which there is none. fb Link to post Share on other sites
SueM 10 Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 I attended John Oliver's funeral (John was in the last BLT class that I was on staff for) along with the others of Bess Kannan's Eagle patrol...it and was truly heart-rending especially with the sharing of the struggles he had as a suvivor of the Beirut bombing and how that affected his life. It was standing room only..full military honors and a packed house of scouters, relatives, friends and others. His son Michael John was out of the hospital and able to attend too. Anyway..I went home to my own troop meeting that night and decided to do a SM's minute with my own boys..reminding them of just how much responsibility we do take on as adult leaders when we're transporting them various places, how quickly things can happen and lives can be forever changed and when it comes to questions about why we can't do certain things because of "rules" in the G2SS...why we HAVE those rules in the first place..why we have a certain expectation for behaviour while traveling, etc...it's for their own safety and they need to not only accept that, but appreciate it. It was one of the few times that they were totally silent during a SM's minute!! The Story was truly sad..Bess had not told us a lot of what was in the story..we had heard certain rumors about things but nothing more concrete. sue m. Link to post Share on other sites
scoutldr 732 Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 Distracted driving caused wreck that killed three Boy Scouts By DAVE FORSTER, The Virginian-Pilot February 9, 2007 | Last updated 6:14 PM Feb. 8 Distracted driving caused the wreck in November that killed three Boy Scouts and an assistant scoutmaster near Franklin, State Police concluded. The sole survivor of the wreck, 12-year-old Michael-John Oliver, told investigators that his father, John Oliver, became distracted while driving, said Sgt. D.S. Carr, a State Police spokesman. Officially, the cause was driver inattention, Carr said. He would not describe the nature of the distraction. Were not going to get into any of that, he said. We dont want parents back there guessing if it was their son who caused it. Reached by phone Thursday, Kent Stephenson, whose 14-year-old son, Carter, died in the crash, said only: It was an accident. None of the other families of those who died could be reached. Residents of the close-knit rural areas poured by the hundreds to the four funerals. The Suburban that crashed was part of a two-vehicle caravan returning on Nov. 5 to Franklin from a weekend camping trip. It veered off Va. 35 near Sebrell, hit a tree and burst into flames. Michael-John Oliver was in the front passenger seat, twisted around and talking to his friends just before the accident, according to an account his mother, Natalie Oliver, gave in an interview last year with The Virginian-Pilot. He turned back around in time to see the SUV headed for the tree and screamed Daddy! Michael-John broke his leg in the crash and crawled out of the Suburban. A motorist who stopped to help pulled him from the wreckage. Investigators spoke with the boy shortly after the wreck but waited to release his account until they had seen the final toxicology results on the driver, Carr said. Investigators did not suspect John Oliver, 43, was under the influence of any drugs, and the tests proved that, Carr said. In addition to John Oliver and Carter Stephenson, Luke Drewry, 12, and Jackson Fox, 13 also were killed. Link to post Share on other sites
Ekmiranda 10 Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 I have just seen the article; I am sick with nausea and pain I can only see my sons face There is nothing that can be said that hasnt already been said. Words cannot describe such deep emotions Feelings and pain for the loss of such loved should not be My deepest and most sincere sympathy to all that this tragedy has touched EKM Link to post Share on other sites
evmori 11 Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 Having driven hundreds of Scouts thousands of miles on many trips all I can say is wow! My prayer go out to the families. Ed Mori 1 Peter 4:10 Link to post Share on other sites
scoutldr 732 Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 Update...a year later: http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=137450&ran=12738&tref=po Link to post Share on other sites
scoutldr 732 Posted May 17, 2008 Share Posted May 17, 2008 Settlement reached. Be sure to read the comments, too. http://hamptonroads.com/2008/05/settlements-reached-boy-scouts-deaths-wreck Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now