This particular post hits a little closer to home than most. Those of you who know me are aware that I’m involved in the Seattle soccer scene as a referee, administrator, player and coach. I’m also the proud parent of a soccer player and referee. It is sad when one of our soccer family passes. Even more tragic is that this story involves someone so young, who apparently was trying to do the right thing by keeping his friends off the road and out of trouble.
The Daily Herald’s story, written by Katya Yefimova and printed on November 16, 2009 is contained below:
Friends mourn two killed in crash
LYNNWOOD — Brandon Norton was the designated driver Friday night.
The Meadowdale High School graduate, 21, had already taken a car full of people home from a party he attended and was driving three of his other friends.
They were northbound on North Road in unincorporated Snohomish County just past 2 a.m. on Saturday when the car went off the road and smashed into a tree.
He died instantly. So did Ehlo Blacknall, 20, who sat behind Norton.
Tyler Gilbert, 20, and Trevor Moore, 21, were rushed to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with serious injuries.
Gilbert was allowed to go home on Sunday evening. Moore was in serious condition.
Detectives from the Snohomish County sheriff’s Collision Investigation Unit on Saturday determined that the car was traveling at 70 to 80 mph when it left the road. The speed limit in the area is 35 mph. The turn is posted at 25 mph.
“He was so young and had such a good life ahead of him,” said Laurie O’Donnell, Norton’s mom, on Sunday evening.
She recalled how her son’s face would light up when he smiled, ear to ear.
A memorial of flowers and candles surrounding a makeshift cross marked the place of the crash on Sunday afternoon. More than a dozen friends and family members looked on, many choking back tears.
A poster placed against a tree read “Proud to be Meadowdale Maverick.”
Norton was a star athlete, said Lizzi Mohs, 18, of Lynnwood.
Mohs and Norton struck a friendship in middle school and were close friends in high school.
“Brandon had a great laugh,” said Mara Eberth, 19, who also came to honor her friends’ memory.
Norton wanted to play soccer professionally. He had playoffs scheduled for Saturday morning, Mohs said. She said nobody saw him drink at the party on Friday night.
On Saturday, the sheriff’s office said in a press release that it is investigating whether alcohol may have been a factor in the crash.
Temperatures in the area dipped below freezing Friday night, and there could have been ice on area roads, according to the National Weather Service.
“They were the most fun-loving, outgoing people,” Mohs said about her friends.
Blacknall lost his father as a child and went through some rough times, Mohs said. He loved skateboarding and loved life.
Mohs and other friends drove to Seattle later on Sunday to visit Moore and Gilbert in the hospital.
She said Moore was a “guardian” to his loved ones.
“It’s all about family for him,” Mohs said.
When Moore was younger, he got into a bike accident and skinned one side of his face. He now has a white eyebrow, Mohs said. It made her smile.
Mohs learned from Moore’s family that he needed surgery. She and others just hoped he would get better soon.
Gilbert spent Sunday evening with his loved ones.
He and Blacknall were always together, always making friends laugh. They even shared a home, she said.
Kim Matzen watched from her porch on Sunday afternoon as friends came and went in a steady stream, bringing more flowers, balloons and candles.
Matzen’s house is on 176th Place SW, a cul-de-sac right before North Road makes the turn where Norton and Blacknall died. She’s seen many wrecks over the years; mostly cars in a ditch, but serious crashes too.
“Rarely do people go the speed limit,” she said.
The road is narrow and curvy, and there is little room to walk on the side of the road. The traffic, however, is always heavy and Matzen is worried about kids walking to school.
“There is no room for error here,” she said.
Norton was recently acquired by Starfire Premier Soccer League’s Big Daddy Hogslayer. The premier division team played for the league championship on Sunday night at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Washington. A memorial was held for Norton prior to the game. Romania won the match 2-1.
