1st of 6 funerals for teens killed in SUV crash draws crowd as NE Ohio community grieves

3/15/2013

WARREN, Ohio — Hundreds of mourners in a northeast Ohio community flocked to the first of six funerals for the teenagers killed when a speeding sport utility vehicle crashed last weekend.

Media outlets report a wake and funeral services Friday at a Warren church for 15-year-old Kirklan Behner were well-attended. Family and friends say the ninth-grader loved to make others laugh and was known to shovel snow or carry groceries to help his neighbors.

He and five more teens drowned Sunday when an SUV struck a guardrail and flipped into a swampy pond in Warren, about 50 miles southeast of Cleveland.

Authorities say the 19-year-old driver didn't have a valid license. Her funeral services are scheduled Saturday.

Four more teenage boys also died. Their funeral services are planned between Sunday and Tuesday.