‘Roller coaster’ ride proves fatal for teen driver

The passenger said the car was traveling about 100 mph.

SOUTHINGTON — Accidents along a certain stretch of state Route 305 just west of U.S. Route 422 are not unusual.

Because of the hills along that stretch of country road not far from Nelson Ledges park and race track, people sometimes speed up to feel the thrill of a “roller coaster” road.

“All we hear is zoom and then crash,” said Janet Bates, who lives at the crest of one of the hills.

On Tuesday night about 11 p.m., the hills proved to be fatal for Travis M. Garcia, 18, of Leavittsburg, whose car left the road, hit a ditch embankment, rolled over about nine times and hit a utility pole.

Garcia was ejected from the 2000 Buick Regal and was found about 20 feet away. He was pronounced dead later at St. Elizabeth Health Center, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said. Its investigation continues.

When Espy Miller heard the familiar sound of a car leaving the road and crashing into the field just east of his house, he could tell it was serious.

“As soon as I heard the noise, I grabbed the [flashlight] and went down,” he said.

Miller saw Bow Yeater, 17, of Leavittsburg, a passenger in Garcia’s car, standing near the Buick with no apparent injuries. “He was out of the car yelling, ‘Where’s Travis?’ ” Miller said of Yeater.

They found Garcia and attempted to help him while emergency personnel were called.

Yeater later told highway patrol troopers that he and Garcia were heading west on Route 305 on their way to Nelson Ledges Quarry Park.

They passed over a couple hills on their way west, which was fun, so Garcia turned the car around and headed back over them a second time when the accident occurred, Yeater told troopers.

Yeater estimated they were traveling about 100 mph and when the car crested the hill.

When the car came back down, it veered left, hit the dirt embankment and rolled about nine times — 200 feet — through the field before coming to a stop after hitting a utility pole, Yeater and the patrol said.

Miller said motorcyclists seem to find the road especially attractive, revving up to a high speed to crest the hill, frequently around 2:30 a.m. when the bars close.

Miller and Bates said 100 mph is not uncommon, nor are accidents.

But in the 32 years Miller has lived on the road, this is the first time someone has died, he said.

The patrol said neither Garcia or Yeater was wearing a seat belt, but Yeater was not ejected. Yeater was treated at St. Joseph Health Center in Warren.

Garcia was a student in the carpentry program at Trumbull Career and Technical Center and would have been a senior this year, officials there confirmed. Yeater will be a senior at LaBrae High School this year.

Pat Guliano, acting superintendent of LaBrae Local Schools, said he met both Garcia and Yeater while substitute teaching at LaBrae during the 2007-2008 school year.

“They were very, very personable, both of them,” he said.

School counselors at LaBrae are available for students who need counseling and assistance, Guliano said.

Pastors of the churches in Braceville and Leavittsburg are always extremely helpful to the family and friends of LaBrae students who have experienced tragedy in the past, Guliano said.

This is the second fatal car accident involving a teenage driver in Trumbull County in the past two weeks. Christie Manchester, 17, of Southington, died at the scene of a single-car accident Aug. 3 on State Road in Champion, about five miles east of Tuesday’s crash.

runyan@vindy.com