Wreck claims another teen driver despite crackdown on speeders

The airborne car hit a tree, and the driver was killed.
OXFORD, Ohio (AP) -- A third student from Talawanda High School has been killed in a traffic wreck this school year, despite a crackdown on teen speeders. Authorities have been suspending drivers' licenses for first offenses and handing out more tickets.
State Rep. Gary Cates, R-West Chester, held a meeting Monday night in Middletown to discuss whether legislation is needed to crack down on teen speeders. He plans four other community meetings on the topic.
Friends of the latest victim, Douglas Schuh, 18, left basketballs, sports caps and personal messages at the tree that his car crashed into on Friday. Police said he was exceeding the 55 mph speed limit when the car ran off a road, went airborne and hit the tree. A 16-year-old passenger was injured, police said.
Others killed
Two other Talawanda students, Jason Farthing and Benjamin Reece, were killed in separate traffic accidents two weeks apart in October. Farthing, 18, died after he turned his car into the path of a tractor-trailer truck, police said. Reece, 16, died after he exceeded the speed limit and crashed his car on Oct. 15, police said.
Police and juvenile court judges in Butler County have been trying to crack down on teens who speed or drive recklessly.
"We're trying to get the word out. It's discouraging we had another one, especially with the contributing factor being speed," Lt. Michael D. Black, commander of the Ohio State Highway Patrol's Hamilton post, said of Schuh's crash. "But we're going to stay the course, and we just hope people will listen."
Counselors were at the school Monday to console grieving students. Some contributed messages to a banner on a hallway wall at the school.
"He liked to drive fast, and everybody knew it," said Kathi Taylor, mother of Schuh's girlfriend, Jennifer.