Please pray for this family. They lost thier kids while on the way to the San Antonio Stock Show.
Friends mourn Angleton teens killed in crash
By John Lowman
The Facts
Published February 19, 2010
ANGLETON — Ross Wedelich kept others laughing, and Hayley Wedelich was a trustworthy confidante, friends said after hearing of the traffic accident that claimed the siblings’ lives.
“Ross was a light in a dark room,” said classmate Jordan Taylor, who had known the Angleton High School junior since eighth grade. “He was always happy. There was never a minute you saw him with a frown on his face. He was just an all-around good person.
“I talked to him yesterday, and now he’s gone,” Taylor said, tears forming in her eyes Thursday afternoon.
Students began getting text messages about 1 a.m. Thursday about the fatal head-on crash hours before on Interstate 10 near Columbus, about 70 miles west of Houston.
The siblings had been traveling to the San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo, where Ross was showing a steer, Angleton High School agricultural sciences teacher Traylor Lenz said. The animal was taken to the show Tuesday, and the pair had remained in Angleton to attend school.
Both Ross and Hayley were involved in livestock showing, both enjoyed living on the rural Rosharon ranch with their parents, Richard and Juliana Wedelich, and both were bright spots in the lives of friends, said Brianna Garcia, a freshman classmate of 15-year-old Hayley.
“I could talk to her about anything,” Garcia said, dark circles under her eyes evidence of a difficult day. “She could tell when I was upset and I could talk to her about anything. When I heard what had happened, I didn’t want to believe it.”
Ross Wedelich, 16, was driving a 2007 Toyota west on I-10, eight miles east of Columbus, at about 7:15 p.m. Wednesday when an eastbound 2006 Peterbilt 18-wheeler crossed the center median, Texas Department of Public Safety communications operator Anthony Silva said. He did not say why the truck driver crossed the median.
The Peterbilt slammed into the Toyota and a 1999 Chevrolet driven west by Patrick Hrncir of Hallettsville. All three vehicles slid into the median between the interstate and westbound feeder lane and caught fire, Silva said.
Hrncir, Ross Wedelich and Hayley Wedelich, 15, were pronounced dead at the scene.
The truck’s driver, Jackie Lee Haley, 64, of Lavernia, was treated for minor injuries and released from a Columbus hospital. No one else was involved in the crash.
No citations had been issued as of Thursday morning, and Silva said the report did not indicate whether alcohol was a factor.
Garcia said she had spoken Thursday with Richard and Juliana Wedelich.
“I can’t imagine how their parents feel,” Garcia said. “The way they lived, everything they did, they lived for them.”
The family raised Beefmaster cattle and were active in Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio shows. Ross had the Reserve Grand Champion scramble steer at the 2009 Brazoria County Fair.
“They’re good kids,” Lenz said. “They’re fun-loving and fun to be around. They were always cheerful and in a good mood. They really enjoyed living in the country.”
Angleton Future Farmers of America chapter President Cody Scarborough said both were very involved in agriculture, and that he’d shown animals against Ross.
“It was fun to be able to compete with them,” Scarborough said. FFA chapters from around the state began calling Lenz and Scarborough early Thursday to offer condolences and prayers.
The shock, emotion and disbelief was still evident on the faces of students Thursday afternoon at Angleton High School. The mood was somber throughout the campus, and conversation in the cafeteria uncharacteristically subdued.
That’s not the way Ross liked things, junior Katie Arroyo said. He decided one day last summer she and some friends needed to learn how to country-western dance.
“There was never a dull moment,” Arroyo said. “He would do anything for a laugh. I looked like a fool when he was teaching me how to two-step. We were all in a big group and he grabbed us and said he was going to teach us how to dance.”
The campus won’t be quite as bright without Hayley, sophomore Brinkley Davis said.
“I saw her just the other day,” Davis said. “She was always smiling. If someone needed something, she always tried to help them. I didn’t believe it was them at first. School is going to be sad without them.”
Angleton ISD officials called in other district counselors, administrators and local church leaders to help students and staff deal with the loss, district spokeswoman Hanna Chalmers said. Students who were extremely upset were allowed to go home.
“From what I’ve seen, they touched a wide variety of students,” Chalmers said. “They clearly had a positive impact on many people’s lives.”
Student council members will make T-shirts with Ross and Hayley’s names on the front and “Wedelich Way” on the back. The “Wedelich Way” means happy and full of life, Taylor said.
“It’s amazing to find out how many lives they touched,” Taylor said. “They were friends with so many people.”
Taylor’s tears resurfaced when talking about the family, including Ross and Hayley’s older sister, Morgan.
“If I could say something to their parents, I’d say Ross and Hayley may not be here,” she said, pausing. “But they’ll never, ever be forgotten.”
Friends mourn Angleton teens killed in crash
By John Lowman
The Facts
Published February 19, 2010
ANGLETON — Ross Wedelich kept others laughing, and Hayley Wedelich was a trustworthy confidante, friends said after hearing of the traffic accident that claimed the siblings’ lives.
“Ross was a light in a dark room,” said classmate Jordan Taylor, who had known the Angleton High School junior since eighth grade. “He was always happy. There was never a minute you saw him with a frown on his face. He was just an all-around good person.
“I talked to him yesterday, and now he’s gone,” Taylor said, tears forming in her eyes Thursday afternoon.
Students began getting text messages about 1 a.m. Thursday about the fatal head-on crash hours before on Interstate 10 near Columbus, about 70 miles west of Houston.
The siblings had been traveling to the San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo, where Ross was showing a steer, Angleton High School agricultural sciences teacher Traylor Lenz said. The animal was taken to the show Tuesday, and the pair had remained in Angleton to attend school.
Both Ross and Hayley were involved in livestock showing, both enjoyed living on the rural Rosharon ranch with their parents, Richard and Juliana Wedelich, and both were bright spots in the lives of friends, said Brianna Garcia, a freshman classmate of 15-year-old Hayley.
“I could talk to her about anything,” Garcia said, dark circles under her eyes evidence of a difficult day. “She could tell when I was upset and I could talk to her about anything. When I heard what had happened, I didn’t want to believe it.”
Ross Wedelich, 16, was driving a 2007 Toyota west on I-10, eight miles east of Columbus, at about 7:15 p.m. Wednesday when an eastbound 2006 Peterbilt 18-wheeler crossed the center median, Texas Department of Public Safety communications operator Anthony Silva said. He did not say why the truck driver crossed the median.
The Peterbilt slammed into the Toyota and a 1999 Chevrolet driven west by Patrick Hrncir of Hallettsville. All three vehicles slid into the median between the interstate and westbound feeder lane and caught fire, Silva said.
Hrncir, Ross Wedelich and Hayley Wedelich, 15, were pronounced dead at the scene.
The truck’s driver, Jackie Lee Haley, 64, of Lavernia, was treated for minor injuries and released from a Columbus hospital. No one else was involved in the crash.
No citations had been issued as of Thursday morning, and Silva said the report did not indicate whether alcohol was a factor.
Garcia said she had spoken Thursday with Richard and Juliana Wedelich.
“I can’t imagine how their parents feel,” Garcia said. “The way they lived, everything they did, they lived for them.”
The family raised Beefmaster cattle and were active in Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio shows. Ross had the Reserve Grand Champion scramble steer at the 2009 Brazoria County Fair.
“They’re good kids,” Lenz said. “They’re fun-loving and fun to be around. They were always cheerful and in a good mood. They really enjoyed living in the country.”
Angleton Future Farmers of America chapter President Cody Scarborough said both were very involved in agriculture, and that he’d shown animals against Ross.
“It was fun to be able to compete with them,” Scarborough said. FFA chapters from around the state began calling Lenz and Scarborough early Thursday to offer condolences and prayers.
The shock, emotion and disbelief was still evident on the faces of students Thursday afternoon at Angleton High School. The mood was somber throughout the campus, and conversation in the cafeteria uncharacteristically subdued.
That’s not the way Ross liked things, junior Katie Arroyo said. He decided one day last summer she and some friends needed to learn how to country-western dance.
“There was never a dull moment,” Arroyo said. “He would do anything for a laugh. I looked like a fool when he was teaching me how to two-step. We were all in a big group and he grabbed us and said he was going to teach us how to dance.”
The campus won’t be quite as bright without Hayley, sophomore Brinkley Davis said.
“I saw her just the other day,” Davis said. “She was always smiling. If someone needed something, she always tried to help them. I didn’t believe it was them at first. School is going to be sad without them.”
Angleton ISD officials called in other district counselors, administrators and local church leaders to help students and staff deal with the loss, district spokeswoman Hanna Chalmers said. Students who were extremely upset were allowed to go home.
“From what I’ve seen, they touched a wide variety of students,” Chalmers said. “They clearly had a positive impact on many people’s lives.”
Student council members will make T-shirts with Ross and Hayley’s names on the front and “Wedelich Way” on the back. The “Wedelich Way” means happy and full of life, Taylor said.
“It’s amazing to find out how many lives they touched,” Taylor said. “They were friends with so many people.”
Taylor’s tears resurfaced when talking about the family, including Ross and Hayley’s older sister, Morgan.
“If I could say something to their parents, I’d say Ross and Hayley may not be here,” she said, pausing. “But they’ll never, ever be forgotten.”