Thomas Turner, 17, lived for the moment.
The Snohomish boy followed his passion and dreams. He loved snowboarding because it matched his free spirit, his father, Tom Cock of Woodinville, said Saturday.
“He wasn’t bound by rules or schedules,” Cock said. “If he wanted to do something, he went out and did it.”
Turner spent the day snowboarding at Stevens Pass on Friday. He died on the way home in a head-on collision along U.S. 2.
It happened fast along a narrow, winding stretch of the highway about a mile east of Gold Bar.
It happened in the midst of the holiday season.
It makes no sense, the dead teen’s father said Saturday. Turner became the 47th person over the last eight years to die in an accident on U.S. 2 between Snohomish and Stevens Pass. He was one of the youngest victims along a highway that state transportation planners acknowledge needs up to $1.84 billion in overall improvements.
“It’s devastating,” Cock said. “It’s shocking. It’s a punch to your kidney. You never think you are going to lose your son. I’m still kind of in denial that this really has happened.”
Turner also is survived by his mother, Laurie Turner; brother, Taylor Turner; sister, Kelsey Turner; grandmothers Aria Cock and Amy Turner; aunt Alexandra Cock; and uncles Christopher Cock, Lawrence Cock and Todd Turner.
A junior at Monroe High School, Turner was full of energy, his father said. The boy loved cooking, traveling and playing soccer. More than anything, he loved helping people.
“He was not judgmental,” Cock said. “He didn’t analyze people. He just accepted people.”
Turner, Loren Lloyd and Shannon Fretz, also 17 and of Snohomish, were heading west on the highway Friday afternoon after spending time at Stevens Pass. A Jeep Cherokee, driven by Lloyd, crossed the center line and hit a full-size pickup truck.
Turner was killed instantly. Lloyd and Fretz suffered life-threatening injuries. On Saturday they remained under treatment at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Lloyd, a former Monroe high school student, was in satisfactory condition; Fretz was in serious condition in intensive care.
A Mount Vernon couple in the pickup also were injured but were released Saturday from Valley General Hospital in Monroe.
Investigators don’t believe speed or alcohol played a role in the crash.
Monroe School District officials on Saturday said they hope to place grief counselors at the high school as soon as possible. They would rather have people holding memorial gatherings for Turner on the campus than out at the crash site, which could be dangerous. Classes aren’t scheduled to resume until Jan. 8.
The death of a child always is tragic, school district spokeswoman Rosemary O’Neil said.
“It’s not just tragic for the loss of what they’ve been, but the loss of what they could be,” O’Neil said. “Our young people have so much potential in life, and for them to be taken so early in their journey through life is so sad. It’s a loss for the world, not only for their family and friends.”
Fretz, a Monroe high school senior, is a standout softball player, her coach Curt Eskeback said.
“She is an honor student. She is a scholar athlete. She is a great kid,” Eskeback said. “It’s a tragedy.”
Team members and coaches are keeping Fretz and her family in their prayers, Eskeback said.
Those who didn’t know the three teens prayed as well. Many people in the Skykomish Valley have lost family, friends and neighbors in U.S. 2 crashes.
To lose a young man during the Christmas season broke many hearts.
Clyde Jelinek of Sultan lost his wife of 49 years, Genevieve, in a crossover crash on the highway in May. Of the 47 fatalities that occurred since 1999 in U.S. 2 crashes, 16 have occurred in crossover crashes similar to those that ended Turner’s and Genevieve Jelinek’s lives, according to state accident data.
“My heart aches for those people,” Clyde Jelinek said. “Those people are feeling the same pain I felt. I’m still feeling the pain. I drive on the highway all the time. Why can’t they do anything about it?”
Greg Solberg of Snohomish died on Nov. 25 from complications of injuries he suffered in a U.S. 2 crash 13 months earlier.
The crash on Friday will affect everyone involved, and their families, long after it is forgotten by most, said Jeff Solberg, Greg Solberg’s brother.
“You don’t think about the lasting effects,” he said.
Monroe Mayor Donnetta Walser said she spent 27 years teaching at Monroe schools.
“This is every parent’s nightmare,” Walser said. “No amount of money will replace these kids.”
A recent state study determined that necessary improvements for U.S. 2 between Snohomish and Stevens Pass could cost up to $1.84 billion. The study outlines 56 projects, including expanding some stretches of the highway from two to four lanes.
There is enough work to keep crews busy until 2030 — if the projects are funded. Since 1993, the state has spent only $36 million in improving the highway.
The study itself cost $1.3 million and took 18 months to complete.
Only one project identified in the study has money so far. About $3.6 million is planned to be spent in 2008 to grind center line rumble strips into the roadway between Monroe and Stevens Pass.
That’s at best a band-aid fix, said Fred Walser, a former Sultan police chief who, along with his wife, Donnetta, has been leading efforts to make U.S. 2 safer. The rumble strips could alert drivers when they stray toward oncoming traffic, but crossover crashes will continue until the highway gets widened and divided by a concrete barrier, Fred Walser said.
“We have to look at what’s happening on that two-lane highway over and over and over,” he said. “That road is simply too dangerous for its traffic volume.”
Backers for improvements to U.S. 2 plan to continue to press for more money during the 2008 Legislature, Fred Walser said.
“We’ve got the attention of the governor,” he said.
Gov. Chris Gregoire toured the highway on Sept. 11 and vowed improvements, calling the roadway’s problems “a significant safety issue.” She later announced that U.S. 2 will be designated a safety corridor, making it easier to secure federal money to improve the highway.
Cock said he doesn’t want to blame the highway for his son’s death. But the highway’s problems are undeniable, Cock said.
“It’s obvious that U.S. 2 is dangerous, and it’s overcrowded,” Cock said. “I’m glad that the governor decided to step up and take action.”
His son was interested in becoming a chiropractor or an airplane pilot, Cock said. He always watched out for his younger brother, Taylor.
The brothers were very close and would hang out almost every day, Taylor, 15, said.
“He was compassionate and gentle,” Taylor said. “He listened to anything I had to say.”
A memorial service for Turner is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 5, at Cascade Community Church, 14377 Fryelands Blvd. in Monroe.
Reporter Scott Pesznecker contributed to this report.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
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