2 high schoolers die in crash weeks before graduation, reports say. ‘How do we go on’
_fitted%20(1).png "Kaleb Newport and Nathan Nguyen were just weeks from their high school graduation in Oklahoma, according to local outlets and family members.")
Two high school seniors died when the car they were in ran off the road and slammed into a tree in Oklahoma, police and family members say.
Oklahoma City police said Kaleb Newport, 18, was driving a Chevrolet Camaro just before 4 a.m. on Sunday, April 30, when the vehicle ran off the road and struck a tree head on. Newport and his backseat passenger, 18-year-old Nathan Nguyen, died at the scene.
The car’s front-seat passenger sustained “serious injuries” and was taken to Oklahoma University Medical Center, police said in a preliminary report.
Investigators said Newport was driving at a high speed and did not brake before hitting the tree. There were “several alcohol containers” in the car and none of the passengers were wearing a seatbelt, according to police.
“That is a very bad combination when you’re talking about speed, alcohol and no seatbelts,” Gary Knight with Oklahoma City Police Department told KOKH. “That’s often times a fatal combination. Very tragic event.”
All three passengers in the car were students at Westmoore High School, school district officials confirmed to KOCO.
“On April 30, 2023, Moore Public Schools was notified that two of our students passed away in an auto accident. They will be deeply missed by the Westmoore Jaguar family. Another student is at OU Medical Center, but specifics about his status are unknown,” the district said in a statement, according to KOCO.
Newport and Nguyen were both seniors just weeks away from graduating, the outlet reported.
“Nothing you do can prepare you for this,” Nguyen’s aunt told KOKH. “I regret not giving him a hug. I regret not talking to him more. It’s just too young. Too soon.”
Loved ones have also shared tributes for Nguyen and Newport on social media.
“Nathan, there aren’t enough words for me to describe the pain that our family is feeling right now,” another of Nguyen’s aunt wrote on Facebook. “We are devastated and heartbroken, how do we go on from here?”
“Please keep my niece & her family in your thoughts and prayers as they try to figure out what happened and go from making graduation plans to funeral plans,” Newport’s great aunt shared in a Facebook post.
This story was originally published May 2, 2023 at 5:35 PM with the headline "2 high schoolers die in crash weeks before graduation, reports say. ‘How do we go on’."
