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A blur, then pain

A teen remembers cruising around in a Jeep and picking up some friends. The rest is a haze of pain and sorrow.

By ABBIE VANSICKLE
Published October 11, 2006

VALRICO -- The night that ended so badly didn’t begin with eight teens piled dangerously into a Jeep Sahara, not a single one wearing a seat belt.It started with two boys looking for a place to hang out and three girls who needed a ride.

Tyler Clark, 17, a Bloomingdale High School senior, got off work at 7 p.m. Saturday at a Papa John’s in suburban Valrico.

He promised his friend and co-worker Ryan Caldwell, 17, that he would pick him up when Ryan’s shift ended.

The boys had met three years earlier in biology class. They’d been close friends since.

About 9 p.m., Tyler pulled up in his 1995 green Jeep Sahara, a prized possession he kept sparkling clean. The two headed to Ryan’s house for fresh clothes.

They planned to stop by a few parties and see other schoolmates in the maze of subdivisions south of Bloomingdale Avenue.

The boys tried one party, but the host’s parents broke it up when it got too crowded, Ryan says.

Tyler called his dad, Dean Clark, and asked whether he could stay overnight at Ryan’s house. Then the two headed to McDonald’s.

The restaurant, near the southwest corner of Bloomingdale Avenue and Bell Shoals Road, is a popular spot for high schoolers, Ryan says.

Ryan got a large order of fries,   and the boys headed for the parking lot.

There, they bumped into Brooke Tappen, 15, Morgan Blazek, 16, and Angela Canessa, 16. A friend had driven the girls to McDonald’s, but she had to leave, Ryan remembers.

Angela’s dad, Ben Canessa, 61, says his wife called Angela at midnight. Angela told her mom she’d be home soon and would bring two friends to stay over. The Canessas pulled out spare blankets and pillows.

Tyler agreed to give the trio a ride.

He planned to drop off the girls at one of their homes, Ryan says.

Christopher Terlizzi, 15, also climbed into the Jeep, bringing the total to six in a vehicle that seats four or five.

Then Tyler was talking on a cell phone.

He drove to his friend Cody Neimeier’s home. Cody was there with another friend, Shane Hadsell, 16. Angela called her parents. She told them she and her friends were going to sleep at Cody’s.

But the eight didn’t stay put.

They all crammed into the Jeep.

Tyler drove. Shane rode shotgun with Morgan on his lap. Brooke sat in the middle, on the console.

Ryan sat behind the driver’s seat. Angela was halfway on his lap, he remembers. Christopher sat next to Angela.

Cody sat next to him in the back right corner.

Tyler popped in a rap CD, a mix of songs Ryan had burned for him. Three 6 Mafia and Plies songs thumped through the speakers.

They again drove toward McDonald’s, nearing the intersection of Bloomingdale and Bell Shoals.

What happened next is lost in a blur, Ryan says.

Sheriff’s Office investigators say Tyler’s Jeep bumped a newly installed, unmarked median and veered off the road into a tree.

Ryan only remembers waking up as an emergency worker ripped off his shirt and pants and pulled him from the Jeep. The impact had torn a hole in one of his legs.

“I remember somebody talking to me,” he says. “I remember a paramedic saying I needed to go to trauma.”

As he was carried away, he saw Cody and Christopher lying on the ground.

“I was screaming,” he says. “Cody was screaming.”

He looked for Tyler but didn’t see him. At the hospital, Ryan learned that Tyler had died at the scene of the crash.

He found out that his friends were scattered between two local hospitals.

As he came in and out of consciousness, he heard talk of the median, of questions about the accident.

Tyler drove that road all the time, and the new median cut into the regular traffic path.

“I think it was a small mistake he made, clipping it,” Ryan says. “I think if that median wasn’t there, we wouldn’t have been in the accident.”

Ryan is home now, but he’s got a long recovery ahead. His left thigh bone is broken. His right leg is fractured. His right collarbone is broken. His head is injured. His ring finger is broken.

Ryan uses a wheelchair and a walker to get around his home.

Shane was also released Wednesday from St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital.

Brooke remains at St. Joseph’s Children’s. Her father told a reporter she was doing okay.

Angela is in critical condition, according to Tampa General Hospital. Her father said Tuesday she couldn’t move her arms or legs. Christopher is in fair condition.

Cody was in critical condition Monday. His condition Wednesday was unclear.

Morgan was released earlier this week, but her mother, Vicky Blazek, said Morgan had to be hospitalized again because of seizures.

Today, family and friends will gather at a memorial service for Tyler. They will remember the teen who loved cars and hoped to attend automotive school after graduation.

Ryan plans to be there in his wheelchair.

 Researcher Cathy Wos and staff writer Kevin Graham contributed to this report. Abbie VanSickle can be reached at 226-3373 or vansickle@sptimes.com.

[Last modified October 11, 2006, 23:19:24]