BETHANY — Okaw Valley High School in Bethany had grief counselors available at the school Saturday and Monday to help classmates cope with the loss of 16-year-old student Kyler A. Lawrence, killed in a car crash Friday morning.
Reports from the Macon County Coroner’s Office said Lawrence, of Bethany, had been pronounced dead at the scene of the crash in the 7500 block of West William Street in Harristown. The Macon County Sheriff’s Office confirmed details of the crash and said exactly what happened in the single vehicle accident, in which the vehicle left the road and ended up in a backyard, were still under investigation.
A note on the school’s Facebook page said students and staff were encouraged to wear red — Lawrence’s favorite color — to school on Monday to honor his memory.
The high school’s Facebook page also says students and staff are coping with more tragic news: Sarah McDowell, a science teacher and volleyball coach, was involved in a car accident Saturday that took the life of her mother-in-law, Natalie S. McDowell, 54, a nurse at Monticello High School.
The school’s Facebook page reports that Sarah McDowell is now in stable condition at Carle Foundation Hospital in Champaign.
PHOTOS: Okaw Valley High School agriculture program
bunfill_grace-06-81719.JPG
Agriculture teacher Wes Wise, center, helps Grace Bunfill, Mia Harris, and Dalton McGill with surveying the alfalfa fields for budding flowers at Okaw Valley High School’s agriculture complex.
harris_mia-01-81719.JPG
Sophomore Mia Harris pulls one of the cows into the chute to lure out one of the calves for vaccination on Friday in Okay Valley High School’s agriculture complex. More photos at Herald & Review.com
harris_mia-02-81719.JPG
Sophomore Mia Harris lets Petunia out into the field behind the agriculture building on Friday at Okaw Valley High School. Letting the hogs out to wander around the grounds allows them to get exercise.
park_devin-04-81719.JPG
Senior Devin Park drives a tiller behind Okay Valley High School’s agriculture complex on Friday, laying soil to re-plant grass seed. The tiller was purchased using money from the ADM Cares grant, and helps improve the facility in Okay Valley High School’s agriculture complex. More photos at Herald & Review.com
SECONDARY
Okaw Valley High sophomores Kylie Stauder, left, and Mia Harris observe a calf named June on Friday at the school agriculture complex. The ag building opened in January.
Wise_Wes-05-81719.JPG
Wes Wise, the agriculture teacher at Okaw Valley High School, fills a syringe with a vaccine for one of the calves on Friday at the agriculture complex. The 1-week-old calves are vaccinated and fly tagged by Okaw Valley junior Grace Bunfill, right.
Contact Tony Reid at (217) 421-7977. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyJReid
Get local news delivered to your inbox!
