Four Teens Dead One Critical After Griswold Crash

Griswold High School is  in mourning  after four  students,three juniors and a sophomore  died when their car  crashed along  Route  201  near Route  138 in Griswold  just after 4:30  Tuesday afternoon.The dead have been indentified as  16 year olds John Clapper ,Sativa Cornell,Dillon Clifford and 15 year old Steven Szklarz.16  year old Joel Gallup was critically injured  and was taken to Backus Hospital in Norwich and the transferred to Yale New Haven Hopsital

Clapper was driving the  car and lost control of the vehicle striking a tree.Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the crash.Grief counselors are   working with students at Griswold High School.Superintendent of  Schools  Paul Freeman says the mood at the school is “very quiet”.He says “it is a huge loss for our community   and Everybody in our  school and everybody in town is feeling it  right now”.

The crash occurred  as Connecticut marks  Teen Safe Driving  Week.Tuesday  motor vehicle officials announced  fatal crashes involving 16 and  17 year old drivers were  at a  12 year low.