Auto crash claims Cardinal track athlete

A trip to catch a school bus to a track meet turned tragic early last Saturday morning.

Washington State Patrol troopers say an SUV with four Medical Lake High School student-athletes on board failed to stop at the intersection of Wood Road and U.S. Highway 2 and was struck by an eastbound pickup, killing 17-year-old passenger Journey R. Tueller.

The other occupants of the 2011 KIA Sorento, 17-year-old driver Lauren H. Gross, and passengers 15-year-old Laci R. Sica and 14-year-old Savannah S. Sutton, were taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane with serious injuries.

The crash happened at 6:47 a.m. as the students were on their way to the school to be transported to the Van Kuren Invitational track meet in Cheney. Their vehicle was struck in the passenger side where Tueller, a junior was riding by a 2008 Ford F-250 pickup driven by 37-year-old Lloyd D. Jones. Jones, from McCleary, Wash., was injured but did not require hospitalization.When informed of the accident, high school principal Chris Spring cancelled the team's involvement in the Van Kuren meet. A small group of other Medical Lake track team members had left the day before with head coach Gene Blankenship to compete at the Pasco Invitational and participated in the Saturday competition.

Assistant coaches Bill Berg, Lisa Henry and Steve Warrington were left with the chore of dealing with the immediate effects of the tragedy. Medical Lake athletics director Justin Blayne later told Blankenship that "They (the coaches) were just excellent in handling everything."

"She was very, very dedicated, OK," Blankenship said of Tueller, one of the team's top performers as a thrower - the shot put and discus. She often stayed after practice to further perfect her craft.

Tueller's best effort with the shot was 26 feet, 11 inches while she flung the discus, 91-1 this year, Blankenship said. In addition to being a member of the track team, Tueller was also on the school's Honor Roll.

When Blankenship returned to school Saturday, he said significant numbers of both the track and baseball teams, plus other students and parents, were involved in the first of a number of vigils staged throughout the week in memory of their fellow students.

A lot of kids that knew Tueller but were never a part of the track program were on hand he said.

Medical Lake Superintendent of Schools Tim Ames issued a statement Saturday and in it he wrote, "We are with a heavy heart today.""I ask that you keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they move forward in the grieving and healing process," Ames said. "As a small tight knit community, this tragic event has impacted all of us. It is extremely important that we come together, and exercise the highest level of love and compassion for one another."Ames added that counselor and other support services for students would be available throughout the week ahead.

Anyone with questions should contact the high school.

This is the second collision in just over a year to take the life of a Medical Lake student. On Jan. 7, 2017, Jacob Normandin, 14, and his mother Melissa were killed when their vehicle was struck by a westbound freight train on Brooks Road northwest of the city.

Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].