Tuesday morning March 30th 2010 2 of my friends were on their way to baseball practice at 11am. Vinny Crotty and Chris Konkowski were killed instantly when a dump truck hit the passenger side of vinny's ford focus. I knew them both from home. We went to the same highschool. They were freshmen when I was a senior. Chris was only 17 and Vinny was 18. They were seniors now, about to graduate HS this coming June. Both played sports year round and were great students. I'm not sure if any of you heard about this on this news but they were both friends of mine. Im not posting this for any reason in particular. I was wondering if any of you had similar experiences?

There's a facebook page in memory of them
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=113449922003556&ref=ts

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs376.snc3/24067_421476435672_624560672_5379224_3512654_n.jpg

There is a huge memorial on Route 202 in Suffern NY where the crash happened. Our whole town has been pretty upset. Completely tragic.

Also, I realize this has nothing to do with an Rx8 but i believe it's a good discussion topic. I'm having some trouble. Losing friends in a war is completely different then losing 2 friends at home who were innocent high school students.

oh fuck.
Sorry about your loss man, that's really tragic.
And is it them who those shirts?
Cause that's a pretty damn big coincidence.

Yea thats chris and vinny wearing those shirts. They worn them during spirit week this year at the highschool. They were best friends. There is 3 of them who were bestfriends which is why the quote says were a tripod knock one down we all fall. The other boy is a complete mess. Ironic in the worst ways possible.

I actually had a very similar experience. My senior year in high school, a good friend of mine died in a car accident. He was driving a Toyota Echo and hit the other car head on, it was some 70's American boat, all steal, he never stood a chance, both cars were going ~40mph.

It really blew my mind when it happened. He was such a happy, optimistic kid with a rather incredible past. He was from Venezuela and had gotten brain cancer when he was 9. Surgeons there gave him a <1% chance of surviving surgery, so his parents brought him to the US. Even here, he only had a 5% chance and yet he survived. We used to play paint ball together all through high school. He died literally days from graduation.

It's hard to have a reaction to something like this. I think everyone's first reaction is a kind of numbness. My friends name was Dan and it wasn't until years later that I shed tears for him. I've always regretted never going to speak to his parents afterwards. They moved back to Venezuela just a couple months later so I lost my chance. If you feel like you want to say something to their loved ones, do so sooner rather than later. You never know how much of a difference a few kind words could make to the rest of their lives.

its never too late. write them a letter.

Sorry to hear about your friends, its a tough thing to deal with.
I lost a high school friend too.

My senior year in High School I was 1st chair in Chess, so of course I had a target on me.
This younger guy Andy always wanted to play me and no matter how much I beat him, he always came back for more.
Every now and then he would actually beat me and it brought such joy to him.
I respect him for never giving up and we started talking more and more.
Not to long after that I joined the local Fire Dept and became a firefighter/EMT.

One day we got called out to a lake for a possible drowning.
Once we arrived on the scene I noticed it was a teenager and prepared for the possibility of knowing him.
When I got closer I started to realize it was my buddy Andy and he drown at the bottom of the lake from getting his foot caught on the plantation on the bottom.

At the funeral I introduced myself to his parents and they thanked me for playing him at chess.
I guess he would always go home and talk about playing "the 1st chair guy" and sometimes beating him and it made him really happy.
But honestly... playing chess the first few times afterward was awkward and I still pictured Andy sitting there smiling.

I've had 2 of my close friend pass away back in high school. One in a car accident over thankgiving weekend coming back from a game. She Got hit by a drunk driver. The other got shot 2 blocks from my house where I live now by gang members. He was a nice guys. Both were great kids. I know how you feel man. I'm truly sorry.

Its just weird. Ive done so much wrong and these 2 were perfect. I cant describe how I feel. I've lost friends in Iraq and Afghanistan and it wasn't anything close to this. When we were overseas atleast it was our choice to go, knowing the risks. It still upset me but losing 2 friends at home in a senseless tragedy such as this is 40x worse.

I am a firm believer that everyone's life has a purpose, and no less so, their death. For some, their life is to inspire others, their death a reward to greater things. Others, their life was just preparing for their death, and it is in their death that their purpose comes to life.

How many great causes have been started because someone died who apparently shouldn't have? If they were not such good people before their deaths, then the causes could not have been the motivation or the spark needed for the changes and causes.


I am truly sorry for your loss, and while you are in mourning, ask yourself, What will their spark ignite?

sorry for your loss, its quite tragic, i hope their third lands on his feet, i dunno how i would react.

I have lost quite a few friends and I guess the best advise I could give is to write a letter to the parents of the two teens. Doesn't have to be sentimental, just why you liked them.
This does a tonne for the family and it lets them "see their kids in you" anytime they see you in the future.
This might sound gay, but when I was a teen I lost over a dozen friends and half of those were really close. I did this at the third incident and gave it to my friends father at the "wake", and 15 years later he still thanks me.
Sorry to hear about your loss, now it's not what happened but what happens.

Thanks guys, i appreciate all the advice.

Sorry for your loss, ClearVue, and condolences to other friends and family as well. I hope you all can find a way to work through your feelings in such a tough time.


its never too late. write them a letter.

I absolutely agree with this. You can't possibly estimate how much it might mean to the parents to know others still think of their lost son. Write a letter if you're so inclined and know where to send it, Anijo.

I went to school in a small community. My high school graduating class was 99 kids, so we all knew each other well. Within 1 year of graduation we had lost 5 to auto accidents. One of the women was on her honeymoon at the time.

I went to school in a small community. My high school graduating class was 99 kids, so we all knew each other well. Within 1 year of graduation we had lost 5 to auto accidents. One of the women was on her honeymoon at the time.


That sounds tragic. Today my friend Chris was buried. I wasn't able to be there for his funeral due to the Army not allowing me to just leave whenever I want. I am just .. idk I'll be fine soon I'm sure I just feel terrible for the families

I don't know if everything has meaning. I suspect there is a randomness to a lot of stuff, but it hurts when the young guys go down - it will be hard on their friends and worse on their folks -

They say the good die young that they may not be corrupted and the bad live long so they have time to repent.

So what happened to the driver of the dump truck? Were there bad road conditions or some logic behind the crash itself?

The dump truck driver was absolutely fine. The report right now is saying that road conditions played a factor. NY was apparently getting hit with a terrible thunderstorm that day. Apparently Vinny's car lost traction (prob hydroplaned) and went over the double yellow line.

Alright, well I'm going to double post here ... but I feel this is too strange for me not to post.

After the death of my 2 friends, My home town just wasn't the same and I guess everyone was kinda hoping it was going to end. Yesterday, a good friend of mine whom I graduated with died from an unknown cause as of right now. He was 21. My home town, Suffern NY Is at a loss for words and so am I. Guys I need some support right now. Like I said losing a friend in Iraq is hard but nothing compares to losing friends you grew up with.