After wreck, 2 families cope with aftermath

AUSTINTOWN — If we could take back last Sept. 26 and do it over, Fitch High School junior John Coudriet wouldn’t need a ride home from school.

His regular ride would be available this time, so he wouldn’t ask 16-year-old classmate Tom Spicker, who lived a few streets away from him on Forest Hill Drive, for a ride to his house on Idlewood Road.

Both boys would still leave school at midday to go to their jobs. Tom’s friend, Jessica Adams, might still skip out of school early and snag a ride with him.

If Tom didn’t take John home, he might not have been on Idlewood. He wouldn’t take the bend there too fast.

And he wouldn’t leave the road and hit a tree.

Of course, there’s no taking back the events of that day.

Police estimate Tom was going 54 mph on the residential street, where 25 mph signs are posted. His red Grand Am left the right side of the road and slammed into the tree on the passenger’s side. The car spun back into the road, coming to rest against a stop sign at an intersection about a block away.

When rescuers arrived, they found Tom dazed, Jessica critically injured, and John in the back seat. John was never going to make it home.

For the rest of the story, see Sunday's Vindicator and Vindy.com.

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