‘They loved each other, and they died together’: Friends and relatives remember 3 victims in New Hampshire crash that wasn’t discovered for almost 18 hours
Jacob Raymond, 21, Stephen Hansen, 22, and Sarah Frost, 18, suffered fatal injuries when the car they were in went off the road into a stand of trees.
Friends and relatives are mourning the deaths of three young New Hampshire residents who were killed when their car struck a stand of trees on Saturday evening, with the crash going undiscovered for almost 18 hours.
Police say the driver, 21-year-old Jacob Raymond of Exeter, and two of his passengers, 22-year-old Stephen Hansen of Seabrook and 18-year-old Sarah Frost of Exeter, suffered fatal injuries in the crash.
A third passenger, identified by authorities as Daniel Petruzzelli, 19, of Manchester, was transported to Portsmouth Regional Hospital with life-threatening injuries.
New Hampshire State Police said troopers responded to the scene on Route 88 near Applecrest Farms in Hampton Falls around 11:40 a.m. on Sunday after a passerby walking on the road reported seeing the wrecked car around 11 a.m.
“Investigators at this time believe the crash occurred during the evening of July 28th possibly as early as 6:30 p.m. but remained unreported as the vehicle was hidden from view of passing traffic due to the dense vegetation surrounding it,” police said.
The initial investigation indicates the car failed to navigate a curve in the road, striking the trees off the highway’s shoulder.
Friends of the victims gathered at the scene of the crash on Monday, the New Hampshire Union Leader reports.
“They just all loved hanging out with each other,” Skyler Austin, a childhood friend of Raymond, told the newspaper.
Stacy Austin told the Union Leader she felt compelled to visit the scene of the crash because Raymond was like another son to her.
“I had to come see how they could have missed these kids,” she said. “The amount of traffic on this road, I can understand it, but it’s just so hard to take in.”
‘It’s just so hard to take in:’ Deaths of 3 friends killed in Hampton Falls crash mourned (from @Schreibernews) … https://t.co/YA18ZpBwhz pic.twitter.com/yGFvK4aQDK
— UnionLeader.com (@UnionLeader) July 31, 2018
Frosty Frost told Seacoast Online that his sister, Sarah, loved to paint and sing and planned to pursue a degree in clothing design.
“She had so many goals,” he said. “Now she’s gone. I can’t wrap my head around it.”
She and Raymond knew each other for several years before they started dating, and the time she spent with the 21-year-old helped her deal with the deaths of both of her parents, her brother told Seacoast Online.
“When she met Jacob, it kind of really rekindled her spirits,” Frosty Frost said. “They loved each other, and they died together.”
Hansen’s girlfriend, Ashley Cote, told Seacoast Online that her boyfriend of five years loved skateboarding and playing basketball with their two children, Jayden, 3, and 9-month-old Isaac.
“He had the biggest heart,” Cote said.
She told Seacoast Online that she is pregnant with their third child and said that she suspected something was wrong when she didn’t hear from him on Saturday or Sunday.
Petruzzelli was Raymond’s adoptive brother, according to Cote.
“[Hansen and Raymond] were both really good people, they had a heart, they would come hang out, we would laugh,” Brandon Lemieux, a friend, told The Boston Globe. “They made a lot of people smile.”
Joshua Jackiewicz, who identified himself as Hansen’s cousin, wrote on Facebook that the 22-year-old was his best friend when they were growing up.
“He had the most infectious smile ever,” he said. “I’ll never forget all the good times we had growing up, playing video games, yugioh, Dragon Ball Z, wrestling with your father, and so much more.”
https://www.facebook.com/joshua.jackiewicz/posts/2674716842601338
The crash remains under investigation, but authorities said excessive speed appears to have been “a contributing factor.”
