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Tribute grows for three Sand Springs students who died in Thursday’s car accident

SAND SPRINGS, Okla. — The site of a horrific car accident that claimed the lives of three Charles Page High School students Thursday afternoon has been transformed into a memorial.

Sand Springs Police released the names of all five students involved in the crash on Friday morning. The students killed in the collision are:

  • 17-year-old Ethan Gibson
  • 16-year-old Cyra Saner
  • 16-year-old Kylee Weaver

Two other students, 16-year old Sirrah Mathews, who was driving the car, and 16-year old Logan Childers, who was in the front seat of the vehicle ,remain hospitalized in Tulsa. They are listed as stable according to police.

Before the names were officially released students, friends and family began arriving at the memorial along Park Road near Colony Circle.

By Friday evening the base of the tree was lined with flowers, gold and purple balloons, crosses and photos of the young victims.

FOX23 learned from students that Ethan Gibson’s favorite color was yellow, while the purple colors on display are in memory of Cyra Saner and Kylee Weaver.

Charles Page High School Junior Mckenzie Noe said she’s in shock following the death of her friend Ethan Gibson.

“Anytime you walk into a room with him, his face, he always had a smile,” said Noe.

Sand Springs Police Captain Jody Fogleman described how the single car crash unfolded:

“It appears speed was a factor in this collision,” he said, “and the car left the roadway, it appears it was up on two tires on its side, collided with the tree at that time and that’s what crushed the roof of the vehicle, spun the vehicle around, and it landed wheels down at its resting point where it is now.”

Police said the three students in the backseat died at the scene.

Neighbor Kallie Lakey was supposed to be at a doctor’s appointment on Thursday afternoon. Instead, she said she was in her bedroom when she heard the crash.

She ran outside and called 9-1-1 for help. She described seeing the two survivors as she approached the car.

“I saw him sitting out here once the first cop car showed up,” she said. “And I saw the girl after she had been I guess, cut out with the jaws of life.”

Lakey said she was waiting on her sister to pick her up for an ultra sound, and she ended up canceling her appointment when her ride didn’t show.

“My heart breaks, absolutely one hundred percent, my thoughts and my prayers are with their families, their friends, everybody that was here yesterday.”

FOX23 drove from Charles Page High School to the memorial site on Friday afternoon. The collision, which police said happened at 12:25pm, took place less than a mile from the school. The posted speed limit is 35 miles per hour.

While the investigation into the collision is ongoing, the memorial at the scene of Thursday’s crash continues to grow.

Steve Terrill, the grandfather of Ethan Gibson, described his grandson that he nicknamed “Bubba”.

“He was just full of life, looking forward to the future, he had a goal, he had plans, he wanted really to become a sound engineer,” he said.

Terrill said the Gibson was a wrestler who planned to graduate next spring and had just started taking classes at Tulsa Tech.

Even in his grief, Ethan Gibson’s grandfather had this message for the families of the other victims:

“Please pray for these others folks, pray for them as well,” said Terrill.

The family of Ethan Gibson has also set up a Facebook donation page to help with funeral costs.

A GoFundMe page has been up set up to help the family of Cyra Saner.

A GoFundMe page has also been up set up to help the family of Kylee Weaver.

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