The death of junior Justin Shawn Gill so shocked his classmates that about 100 went home for the day.
By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
Published May 14, 2004
LITHIA - Principal Joe Perez delivered the news to his students early Thursday: "We have lost one of our own in a car wreck. Justin Shawn Gill, at just 17, is dead."
The early-morning announcement about Gill, a Durant High School junior, hit students hard.
More than 100 were so upset, they went home. In all, 250 students, 12 teachers and a few parents gathered in the auditorium for counseling from five members of the school district's crisis team, said school district spokeswoman Linda Cobbe. "He was very popular," she said of Gill.
So popular that by lunchtime, students had collected more than $400 to help Gill's family pay for the funeral.
Gill died shortly after school let out Wednesday, as he drove home to Lithia in his blue 2003 Ford pickup. Sheriff's officials say Gill drifted over the center line as he traveled south on County Road 39 around 3:40 p.m.
His Ford struck the side of a northbound semitrailer truck driven by Heath William Henry, 44, of Virginia. The Ford continued south in the northbound lane, and the front hit a second semi driven by Gregory George Gauthier of Orlando.
Gill, not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the Ford. He died at the scene, according to Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.
By late Wednesday, dozens of friends had gathered at his home. They recalled his friendly, helpful manner, and how his childhood growing up on the family farm in Fort Lonesome fostered a love of agriculture and rural life.
Cobbe said Gill's death is difficult not only because he was so well-liked by his peers, but because this is the fourth Durant student to die in a car crash since last school year.
At least 16 Durant students have died in the past eight years, including nine in auto-related accidents.
Last year, three students died. In one accident involving four students, the son of sheriff's Chief Deputy David Gee was seriously injured.
