R.I.P. Matthew Schmitt

[soulofthesea]

I was meaning to post this a while back, but a member of the Seven Lakes High School Spartan Band has passed away.

Matthew Schmitt was a mellophone player in the Spartan Band. He was in a car with five other mellophone players last Friday when they were running late for rehearsal because they had a game that night. Keep in mind, this was the whole mellophone section that was in that car. Anyways, the car was punching it around 80 mph when the car flipped over when making a sharp turn. The other five mellophone players walked away with virtually no injuries, while poor Matthew didn't make it. He was pronounced dead at the scene; he was only fifteen.

Last night was the Spartan Band's first game since this horrible tragedy. Watching from the sidelines, I could tell they were struggling to keep themselves together throughout their half-time performance. They dedicated their performance to him, as well as lying his instrument and uniform in the endzone. I found the performance very moving and, ultimately, ended up sending a few tears Seven Lakes' way (my girlfriend Alexis later confronted me about it, but she thought it was sweet that I did that).

Please keep the Spartan Band and Matthew's family in your thoughts and prayers. I don't go to Seven Lakes and never met Matthew, but I know some people who were friends with him and they would very much appreciate everyone's sympathy. In fact, all of the other bands in the district are wearing orange and blue ribbons (Seven Lakes colors) on their uniforms in honor of Matt whenever they perform at the Katy Marching Festival tomorrow.

And for the record, I did talk with my Seven Lakes friends about setting up a topic like this, and they approved rather quickly. And since this was a teen-related accident, please, please, keep any kind of derogatory comments about the accident/teen driving laws to yourself! I certainly do not want to taint Matthew's memory that way.

[Katie]

Oh, that sucks, well I am praying for his family. I can't believe that. Why are so many young people dying? 

[soulofthesea]

I know. It truly sucks when someone in your own age group dies, especially if they where in something as big as band, because you know that you both automatically have something in common. Since band is our second family, not only does Matthew's death affect Seven Lakes, but it affects all of the bands in the district (Mayde Creek, Cinco Ranch, James E. Taylor, Morton Ranch, and Katy).

[Paden]

Soul, it wasn't their age that caused the accident, it was excessive speed. That's been known to carry off people of all ages, and my heart goes out to all of their family and friends.

[Carlwashere]

Paden, while I can't say he was blameless for the accident, it's still a sad thing that he was so young when he died. 

[Paden]

If he wasn't driving, he wasn't responsible. He was only fifteen, which means, no, he wasn't driving. He was a passenger. Now, don't derail a thread that was made out of respect for this young man.

[soulofthesea]

Soul, it wasn't their age that caused the accident, it was excessive speed. That's been known to carry off people of all ages, and my heart goes out to all of their family and friends.

Paden, I know that it was the speed that caused the accident. I've known about this tragedy since it happened last Friday. I was just trying to make sure people wouldn't parade around blaming the kids for doing something they had no intention of doing, scold the kids' parents for being irresponsible, wanting stricter teen driving laws, all that jazz. I am personally acquitted with the driver in that accident. He (the driver) is turning seventeen next month, and I know that he will have to live the rest of his life knowing that he unintentionally killed one of his friends. I can't imagine how much therapy this guy will need the rest of his life. And the greater irony is that everyone in the car was wearing their seatbelts, which makes it even more tragic.

[caffeinated.joy]

It was good they were. If they hadn't been, at that speed, there would have been more than one casualty. How horrrible. My heart goes out to his friends and family.

[Katie]

That really sucks, I wish the innocent ones didn't have to be the ones who died....

[Paden]

I know that, Soul, I just want other people to know that people of all ages, not just teens, get killed from going to fast.

[PinkSword]

This must be so difficult for you. My heart goes out to his friends and family. I cannot imagine the pain his parents are feeling right now.

[DaSpecial1]

It seems so easy to judge, but if you are a regular driver I'm sure you know that (in a rush) you can do eighty mph in a heartbeat without even realizing it--with all the good intentions of getting everyone home safe and swiftly.  Adults make that error all the time so it's easy to see how teens might not think much about it especially if they haven't been drinking and feel they know the route well.

Here in Hawaii it seems I hear about driving deaths teen every other month, many involving teens. It's heartbreaking. A few years ago a 60 yr old and his 7 year old grandson were killed crossing the road going back to their house on their shared birthday.  They had gone for ice cream before the party they were to have later that day. You never forget things like that. Each year I still remember them along with many others.

My thoughts are with Matthew's friends and family as they try to deal with this tragic loss.