10 Years
It's been Ten years since a fatal accident that killed three teenagers. Here's what I remember from that day, it was a cold, windy October day. I had gotten up and noticed how cold it was, despite having the heat on in the house, but none the less I got up, got ready for school and went. It was Friday of homecoming week and everybody was gearing up for that. I wasn't too excited about anything because I wasn't going to homecoming, so it didn't matter much. I was walking to school when I noticed that the stadium lights were on at school, which was odd, but I thought little of it, except I do remember them facing North.
So I went to school, and did my normal morning this, going to my locker, checking on people, seeing how things were going. I went to my Intro to Physics and Chemistry class and we were all kept in our first period classes for a couple of hours, I started hearing rumblings of something going on, but nothing concrete. The whole day had a bad vibe. Once we were let out of our first period classes, I went to my second period American Studies class.
There were a bunch of people not in class. Then about halfway through the class a teacher came in and informed my teacher, Mrs. Hennigan, that there was an announcement from the school. This announcement informed us that one of the students in our class had died in a car accident that morning. I started looking around and I kept thinking of whom it might be, going through who wasn't there. Before they said who it was, I knew, I looked right at Jennifer Robert's seat. It was not a very good day overall. I remember the administration allowing people to leave because they were too distraught. I'm sure most left early because they could. I, of course, stayed since that's what I always tend to do. Below is the article from the Chicago Tribune for 10/18/1997.
High school homecoming high jinks ended abruptly early Friday when three 16-year-old Naperville girls and a 27-year-old Aurora mother of three were killed in a two-car collision that police say was caused by a drunken driver.
Allison Matzdorf, Jennifer Roberts and Jenni Linn Anderson, all students at Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora, died when a 1991 Toyota Camry driven by Matzdorf was struck about 4 a.m. by a 1992 Pontiac Grand Am driven by Randy J. Visor, 28, of Aurora, police said
Visor's passenger, Anna Louisa Pryor, 27, of Aurora, also was pronounced dead at the scene at Eola Road and New York Street in Aurora, according to police.
Authorities allege that Visor was drunk while he was driving west along New York Street at a high speed. They said he ran a red light at Eola and struck the Toyota, which was traveling south on Eola.
Friends of the three teens said Friday morning that the girls were among a group of students out toilet-papering the homes of football players and others involved in homecoming festivities when the accident occurred.
Visor was in serious condition Friday at Copley Memorial Hospital in Aurora, where he was being treated for chest trauma, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
Visor's blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent, and there was an open bottle of liquor in the car, according to Aurora Police Chief Larry L. Langston.
Visor has been charged with four counts of reckless homicide and was under police guard at the hospital, according to DuPage County State's Atty. Joseph E. Birkett. Upon his release from the hospital, Visor will be taken to the DuPage County Jail, Birkett said. Bond has been set at $4 million.
The secretary of state's office has revoked Visor's license, officials announced Friday. If convicted, Visor would face a possible prison term of 3 to 14 years, Birkett said. Birkett added that the accident investigation was ongoing, and additional charges may be filed.
Some two dozen neighbors of Matzdorf and Roberts, who lived in the same Naperville neighborhood, tied lavender and white ribbons on their mailboxes Friday afternoon in memory of the girls, both of whom baby-sat regularly for neighborhood tots.
Small children "adored" both girls, said Carol Bax, a neighbor who had employed both teenagers as baby-sitters.
Anderson's aunt, Renee Steffan of Lemont, described her niece as a "firecracker" in terms of her energy and spirit.
"She was a good kid doing a fun thing," Steffan said. "She just got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time."
The tragedy cast a pall over weekend homecoming festivities at Waubonsie Valley High School, where the three students were described as lovable, active, spirited and energetic by those who knew them. All three were student council members; Matzdorf and Anderson were members of the school swim team, and Roberts was a soccer player.
Student council members and swim team members learned of the deaths at a 9 a.m. assembly, while others heard of the tragedy from teachers during the first class period.
Arezoo Riahi, a junior from Naperville, was among the students involved in the toilet papering. Riahi said she was in a second car that drove past the scene of the accident no more than 15 minutes after it happened.
"When we saw the accident, we didn't think anything about it; we just said, `My God, that's terrible,' " Riahi said. "At the time, we just thought it was a good thing that it didn't happen to any of us."
A homecoming pep rally scheduled for Friday afternoon was canceled, but the football games and a parade were held as scheduled Friday night; a homecoming dance Saturday night is expected to go on as scheduled. Moments of silence in memory of the girls will be observed during homecoming events, school officials said.
During the junior-varsity football game, members of the junior class gathered in front of the class float, huddled together and cried on each other's shoulders.
In the stands nearby, friends of the victims wore yellow ribbons in memory of them. The junior homecoming float, decorated with yellow roses, was scheduled to come out last in the parade and stop in front of the stands for a moment of silence.
Standing near the football field sidelines was Roberts' father. "We wanted to be here for our child," said Richard Roberts.
Waubonsie Valley officials did their best to keep the school day as normal as possible Friday. No classes were canceled, but students who had difficulties dealing with the tragedy were allowed to go home, with parental permission.
Those inside the school said there were audible sounds of grief in each classroom as news of the tragedy spread.
Rev. Ed Doepel, a local pastor and chaplain of the Aurora Police Department, was at the 9 a.m. assembly where student council members and swimmers gathered to hear news of the tragedy.
"There was just a loud gasp and then the sounds of crying," Doepel said. "It was so bad, nothing was said afterward for a few minutes so we could gain some control."
Waubonsie Valley Principal Gary Elmen knew the three through their student council involvement. He said a crisis team of more than 20 staff counselors, social workers and psychologists was at the school Friday to help students deal with the loss.
According to Elmen, the news that the accident may have been caused by a drunken driver compounded the grief at the school. In February, assistant football coach Jeff Still was killed in an accident in Aurora in which alcohol was involved. The jerseys of the Waubonsie Valley football team bear Still's initials.
Naperville junior Jennifer Engle had known the three girls since their days at Thayer Hill Middle School in Naperville. Engle said she had spent much time with them this week building the junior-class float and attending festivities that included a sock hop at Waubonsie Valley the night before the accident.
"Last night they were so funny; they sang and did karaoke," Engle said. "There are so many lives they touched. There are a lot of people who will miss them tremendously."
Pryor, Visor's passenger, was the mother of an 9-year-old boy and two girls, ages 3 and 5. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services awarded custody of the three children to Pryor's sister, Lydia Ramirez, 28, of Aurora.
Ramirez said her sister had returned to her hometown about five months ago from California to bury her husband, who died in a car crash. Pryor and her children were scheduled to fly back to California on Wednesday to restart their lives there.
State driving records indicate Visor was cited for speeding in September, and that case had yet to be resolved. He also was cited for speeding twice in May and June 1996, the records indicate. There was no indication of previous charges for driving under the influence.