A teenager committed suicide after leaving the scene of a car accident that killed his best friend.
Tyler Zook, a 17-year-old high school soccer player from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, committed suicide in the middle of the night.
Zook had left the scene of a crash hours earlier, just after midnight on Saturday night, in which his teammate, 16-year-old Tyreese ‘Ty’ Smith, was killed.
Another girl, Amalie Wendt, 18, was also injured in the crash into a vehicle that belonged to her father.
Tyler Zook, a 17-year-old high school football player from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, committed suicide hours after a car accident killed his best friend
Tyreese ‘Ty’ Smith, 16, Died in Crash – He’d Known Zook for Ten Years
A memorial has been erected on the side of the road in Pennsylvania where the accident happened
It is unknown who was driving the car, a Hyundai Santa Fe, at the time of the incident.
The vehicle, which police say was speeding, veered into a field and rolled several times before coming to rest on its side.
Smith died of mechanical asphyxiation as a result of multiple traumatic injuries in the crash. His death was ruled accidental.
Zook appears to have fled and committed suicide less than two hours later when he returned home.
The coroner has confirmed that Zook’s death was suicide.
Another girl Amalie Wendt, 18, was also injured in the crash
Zook was an offensive lineman and defensive lineman in the team’s class of 2023, according to the Lancaster Daily Voice†
Both Zook and Smith worked at a local Sonic Drive-In on East Lincoln Highway. Smith was on duty Friday evening from 6 p.m. and departed around 11:30 p.m.
The pair were also football players at Conestoga Valley Senior High School.
Zook had just finished his junior year, while Smith had completed his sophomore year.
The two had been friends for nearly a decade with Smith who Zook met while playing soccer when he was six years old.
The pair played soccer together and worked at a local fast food restaurant
The car was speeding when it went off the road and overturned
An obituary tells of how he loved spending time with his teammates, on and off the field, hunting, the beach, music, PlayStation and his 1993 Chevy S-10 pickup truck.
“Usually you never see one without the other,” Bernice McKenzie, Smith’s mother, reminded The Voice.
She said the duo was a “comedy show.”
“They were really funny. They were always fooling around and having fun.’
Students at their school also shared fond memories of the couple.
“They’re hysterical,” freshman Patience Conner said of them. “They can make anyone laugh.”
Zook appears to have fled and committed suicide less than two hours later when he returned home
Smith loved spending time with his teammates, on and off the field, enjoyed hunting, the beach, music, PlayStation and his 1993 Chevy S-10 pickup truck an obituary stated
Conner said Smith and Zook “couldn’t do one without the other.”
“Tyreese was always good at advice—anything you needed, he was there,” Conner said. “You could ask him anything, whether he was down or not, and he would help you no matter what.”
“Tyreese was very funny,” said Karyssa Rosa, a Lancaster County Academy sophomore. ‘He was a very good people person. He liked to talk to everyone and was always there for everyone. And he was just a good person all around. He always tried to help other people.’
A memorial has since been placed on the side of the road where the tragic accident took place.
“I have times when I can only laugh at something he may have said or done, and there are times when I can’t even speak,” McKenzie said. “It’s up and down and up and down. I thought it would get easier every day. Actually, it just gets a little more difficult.
“I wanted to thank the police for finally sitting down and being so honest and forthright and giving me the information they can give me,” McKenzie said.
“I know there are still a lot of unanswered questions, but I was able to get some answers and I was just super grateful for the fact that they gave me information and how much they made me feel supported.”
Local Superintendent Dave Zuilkoski wrote in a statement that mental health counselors were available at the school for those who knew the teens.
“It is my understanding that their deaths occurred under different circumstances, with an interval of several hours,” said Conestoga Valley sports director Dina Henry. “It was very confusing to understand this. The sadness, the feeling of fear, when two young children are gone. It’s so sad. It’s even hard to wrap your head around it.
GoFundMe funerary fundraisers have been set up for both zoo and Smith have generated over $36,000 in total.