Stoughton Reels From Death Of Four Teens

At a track meet in Canton Sunday, what should have been a celebratory event for the Stoughton team took on the feeling of a funeral.

Team members hugged one another and wept openly as they took in the loss of four of their teammates: 17-year-old Christopher Desir; 17-year-old Eric Sarblah; 16-year-old Nick Joyce; and 17-year-old David Bell.

The four young men were killed in a car crash in East Bridgewater on Saturday afternoon. A fifth teen, the 17-year-old driver of the car, is still in the hospital.

Earlier in the day at Stoughton High School, superintendent Maggie Rizzi told reporters the school is prepared to provide support in the wake of the tragedy.

"We’re going to do everything that we can do and everything that is necessary to get our students, their families, and our staff members through this crisis," Rizzi said.

"This is not the kind of thing that you heal from quickly."

Police in East Bridgewater received a call Saturday afternoon that a car had crashed into a tree off Route 106. Three of the passengers were pronounced dead at the scene, and one died later at a hospital.

Authorities did not release the name of the driver, but said Sunday he was in stable condition at Boston Medical Center.

Students and staff gathered at the Stoughton High School gymnasium Sunday afternoon to mourn their loss.

On her way into the school with her mother was Carly Williams, who said she was friends with the students involved in the crash. With her eyes welling up and voice quivering, Williams said news of the crash was devastating.

"It was unbelievable to be honest, I just couldn’t believe it happened," Williams said, standing outside the school. "All the memories just flashed through my brain, all the memories I had with them at school."

"It's just crazy," Williams said, adding that she spoke to the driver of the crash just a week earlier.

As high school students near prom and the end of the school year, Williams said teenagers need to take driving more seriously.

"I think kids get excited when they drive, and they’re like, 'Oh yeah, I have a car!' " she said. "They just need to be more careful and pay attention to what they’re doing."

State police and East Bridgewater Police are investigating the crash. State police spokesman David Procopio said in an email that a crash reconstruction will be carried out to determine the cause of the crash.