HUBBARD HIGH Tribute honors spirit of Kyrsten

The large bronze eagle will stand at the school entrance.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
HUBBARD -- Seven Hubbard High School students who were with Kyrsten Studer when struck by a hit-and-run driver say she would have had a bright future.
Kyrsten was remembered Wednesday evening when a memorial was unveiled at the high school. About 300 members of the community gathered.
This morning, the seven students who were with her April 4 recalled Kyrsten and what she meant to them.
They were 10th-grade classmates Ellice Hayek, Yvonne Nelson, Kristina Angelo, Amanda Fisher, Amanda Prommersberger and Chelsea Farcas and ninth-grader Janine Bellino.
Three members of the circle of friends had just learned that they had made the majorette squad and were out celebrating.
What happened
They had dinner at the Waffle House and were walking off the road to Bell-Wick Bowl when struck by a car on state Route 304, in front of Pine Lakes Golf Course.
Kristina, Yvonne, Ellice and both Amandas were injured.
They said that Kyrsten didn't talk much outside her small circle of friends.
"People thought she was shy. She was like us. She always wanted to go out," Kristina said.
"She was always spontaneous. She would go with the flow," she added.
Kyrsten was bright, her friends said. The 14-year-old wanted to become a doctor and help others. She could have done it, her friends said.
Mayor and wife helped
Ellice called the memorial a "nice gesture" by Mayor George Praznik and his wife, Nancy, who collected donations. The large bronze eagle that will stand at the school entrance is designed so other names of students can be added.
"We all really miss her. People will be able to drive by and will remember her," Ellice said.
Yvonne said Kyrsten would have wanted the memorial so other students whose lives are cut short will be remembered.
The young people say they are learning from their loss.
"We're learning to deal with it. We're learning to grow beyond our years," Chelsea said.
Driver in court
Meanwhile, the car's driver appeared for a pretrial hearing Wednesday before Judge W. Wyatt McKay of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
Judge McKay scheduled a Feb. 23 trial for William Demidovich, 69, of Hubbard Township, who is charged with aggravated vehicular homicide. The Ohio State Highway Patrol has said Demidovich was drunk when his Lincoln Continental went off the road and struck the girls.
Demidovich will next appear before Judge McKay on Oct. 15 for a second pretrial hearing.
yovich@vindy.com