Deaths of 2 MDI teens stun classmates

BAR HARBOR – The hallways of Mount Desert Island Regional High School were eerily silent Wednesday morning as subdued students gathered in quiet clusters before classes began, mourning the deaths of classmates for the second time this spring.

Tears were running freely on the faces of boys and girls alike as news spread that Kelley Seavey, 17, and Nicole Jacobs, 16, had died when their car struck a utility pole Tuesday night.

The two girls, along with Nathaniel Lunt, 16, and Brianne Seavey, 14, had been driving west on Route 102 when Kelley Seavey lost control of her 1998 Kia Sephia sedan. Brianne – Kelley’s sister – and Lunt were hospitalized.

Just three months ago, another student, junior Chelsea Ordway, was killed in a car accident. Posters were hanging on school walls Wednesday to promote an event planned in her memory.

Many friends of Kelley Seavey and Jacobs did not learn of their deaths until arriving at school Wednesday. Guidance and administrative staff spent the morning counseling students, and a constant stream of young people used the office telephone to call parents so they could return home to mourn.

“It’s just chaos here today,” said athletics director Bunky Dow, speaking for the high school administration. He declined further comment.

About 7:45 p.m. Tuesday, Kelley Seavey was cresting a small hill near Quietside Campground in Tremont, when the car left the road. It crushed several good-sized trees before striking a utility pole with such force that the pole splintered, knocking live electric wires onto the ground.

The impact of the crash flipped the car, which rolled over and came to rest on its roof, according to Hancock County Sheriff’s Department reports.

Police on Wednesday had not finished the accident reconstruction and had not determined conclusively where the teen-agers were headed, or why Seavey lost control of the vehicle, said Deputy Corey Bagley.

The curved, hilly road was wet and clouded with mist Tuesday night, and Seavey had been a licensed driver for only 18 months, Bagley said.

Police believe that speed was likely a factor in the accident, but at this point have no indication that the teens were using drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash, he said.

Some of the teens were wearing seat belts, but it was not clear who was belted. A full investigation may take weeks, police said.

Brianne Seavey was thrown from the car upon impact with the pole and landed several feet away. She suffered multiple injuries and was taken to Mount Desert Island Hospital, then transferred to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. Following an operation Wednesday, Seavey was reported to be stable and is expected to fully recover.

Her sister, Kelley, died at the scene of head trauma. Seavey, whose family lives in Bernard, had been a senior at MDI High, where she played clarinet in the school band and was a member of the cheerleading squad.

Seavey had worked at several local businesses, including Big Al’s Pit Stop in Tremont, where staffers handed out more than 100 yellow and white ribbons in memory of the teens Wednesday. The ribbons adorned cars, trees and mailboxes throughout town by midafternoon.

“She was a real happy person, real energetic – she got along with everyone,” said Big Al’s manager David Kelley.

Nicole Jacobs, whose family lives in Seal Cove, also died at the scene. Jacobs was a sophomore at MDI High, where she played on the freshman basketball team last year.

The Jacobs family is also mourning her grandfather, Forrest Pinkham, 71, who died as a result of a barn fire in Lamoine on Tuesday morning. Investigators have deemed Pinkham’s death a suicide.

Lunt, whose family lives in Tremont, was trapped in the car when it rolled over. Rescue crews had to use a mechanical extraction device to free him.

Lunt was taken by ambulance to Mount Desert Island Hospital. He was held overnight for observation and treated for multiple bruises and abrasions before being released, according to police reports.

All four of the teens are Tremont natives and attended Tremont School for nine years, said Principal Craig Kesselheim.

The kindergarten through eighth-grade school’s pupils were informed of the accident and given the opportunity to write or draw messages to the Seavey and Jacobs families Wednesday.

Members of Union 98’s crisis response team were also available to counsel students and staff members, Kesselheim said.

Friends and family have created a shrine near the shattered utility pole, piling dozens of fresh flowers near a small cross.

Crews from Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. worked through the night to erect a temporary pole and raise the live electric wires, but bits of tire and pieces of cloth tangled in the crushed evergreens marked the accident site.

Six officers from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, an officer from the Mount Desert Police Department, crews from the Southwest Harbor Fire Department, Southwest Harbor Ambulance and County Ambulance responded to the scene Tuesday night, many remaining until 6 a.m.