Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Boy, 12, killed during crash on way to school

The Centennial Middle student's grandmother is also injured in the accident when their car and a pickup collide.

By JAMAL THALJI
Published March 1, 2005

DADE CITY - It was to be a special birthday Thursday for Mitchell Lookedoo, one his family had been planning.

"Three days before his 13th birthday and here we were talking about getting him a go-cart," said his mother, Deanna. "You know all the wonderful things you do for a boy's 13th birthday, and now. ..."

Monday, the family planned his funeral.

The Centennial Middle School seventh-grader was killed and his grandmother Judy Prevatte injured on their way to school Monday morning when their car turned in front of a truck on U.S. 301.

"I don't understand how something like this can happen," his mother said. "I know God has his reasons, but right now I can't even think about them.

"How do you go on? How do you breathe knowing your child's not going to come home?"

The accident occurred at the intersection of U.S. 301 and Centennial Road at 8:05 a.m., according to a Florida Highway Patrol report. John Barnett, 49, of Dade City was headed north on U.S. 301 in his 1998 Ford F-150 pickup. Prevatte, 54, was southbound in a 1988 Toyota Camry.

Prevatte tried a left turn onto Centennial, the report said, in front of the approaching F-150, which could not stop in time.

"She had the green light, but not the green turn light," Deanna Lookedoo said. "She made the turn, but didn't see the pickup truck coming."

The F-150 struck the Camry, the report said, flipping it over three times. Mitchell Lookedoo was pronounced dead at East Pasco Medical Center, his mother said.

Prevatte, who wore her seat belt, was flown to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, where she was reported in fair condition Monday evening.

"She's devastated," Deanna Lookeedoo said. "Mitchell was the apple of her eye. I think she looked at him like the boy she couldn't have. She loved him. All of our family loved that little boy."

The patrol did not indicate which hospital Barnett, who was not wearing his seat belt, was taken to. The report said Mitchell was not wearing his seat belt, but the family said he always did and always reminded them to buckle up.

He leaves behind his mother, his father, Clint, and sister Tabutha, 15.

He was a perennial honor student, the family said, who worked hard in class and loved school. He was a Miami Dolphins fan and loved watching football on television. He was happiest in his own yard and liked to watch TV and play video games.

Give him some building blocks and watch out.

"That child could take Lego (blocks) or K-Nex and make things your own brain can't even imagine," his mom said.

At 4-foot-4, 56-pounds he didn't look his age, the family said, but what he lacked in stature he made up for in popularity.

"His friends were all crazy about him," Deanna Lookedoo said. "He was a tiny little fellow, but all his friends were big fellows, tall fellows, and they just took to him so well."

There's no one thing his mom remembers about him.

"All I can tell you is that Mitchell was a very special child," she said. "He was loving. He was caring. He was giving. This was a child who was more like an angel on Earth than a child. He was always helpful. Always courteous. Always polite.

"This is a child that any mom or dad would be proud to have."

Mitchell Lookedoo's organs will be donated, she said, and the funeral is at 2 p.m. Saturday at Oakside Cemetery in Zephyrhills. He will be cremated.

The Pasco County School District sent its crisis intervention team of counselors and psychologists to meet with students and staffers at the school. It also asked the state for special permission to delay Monday's scheduled start of FCAT testing, which will resume Thursday.

"This student was well respected and admired," said Lori Yusko, the district's director of communications. "(The team) will stay at the school for as long as they're needed."

[Last modified March 1, 2005, 01:11:12]