They were "lunch buddies," 10 fellow musicians taking a midday break from a high school summer band camp when their jaunt ended in death on a rainy highway.
The students were killed Wednesday when the blue 1991 Ford Explorer they were in passed three vehicles in a no-passing zone on state Highway 45, lost control on the wet road and was hit broadside by an oncoming tractor-trailer."It's almost like a bad dream," said Beth Floyd, who knew two of the victims. "Maybe we'll wake up tomorrow and it won't have happened. But I'm afraid it will be harder. They were good kids."
Speed didn't appear to be a factor. Witnesses told police the vehicle was going about 55 mph on the straight, flat two-lane road just outside of this town of 4,000, about 100 miles east of Raleigh.
"There were some of the people still in their seat belts," said state Highway Patrol Lt. Wayne Taylor. "Ten people is a lot of people for a Ford Explorer. We probably will never know what happened."
Nine victims died at the scene and the other on the way to a hospital. The driver of the truck, David Neal Griffin, 43, of Edenton, was treated for minor injuries and released, Taylor said.
Bits of plastic and pieces of the Explorer littered the highway. A broken clarinet lay beside an instrument case on the grassy shoulder. A blue cap lay on the other side of the road. A puddle of blood was on the pavement near the truck, and 97 cents in change was scattered nearby.
The students were "lunch buddies," said Elena Barber, a secretary at the 700-student Plymouth High School. Nine belonged to the school band and the 10th was a former member, band director Leroy Bland said.
Two of the dead were Damien Burden, 17, the driver of the Explorer, and his brother Bobby, 15.
"We had a buddy relationship. I want to remember them like I saw them this morning," said Barbara Burden, the boys' grandmother.
Also killed were Rico Blount, 14; Rashad Malik, 15; Norman Wilson Jr., 15; Clayton Chesson, 14; Erica Downing, 15; Christie Toodle, 15; Felicia Davis, 15; and Marcus Bratts, 16.
Downing's father, Timothy, was in shock as he and other relatives listened to police announce the names of the victims at the Washing-ton County Courthouse.
"Basically, there are some things you can't help and you can't do anything about," Downing said. "I just trust in God. I know He's going to provide and make a way for me to stand against this tragic death."