LIVERPOOL --
Friends of a Liverpool teen killed in an accident Monday afternoon will hold a vigil in her memory Wednesday night. They will gather at 7:00 pm at the site of the crash on State Route 31 in Bridgeport in Madison County.
State Police say the autopsy results for the cause of death to 17-year-old Victoria C. Deverso is multiple blunt force trauma. Toxicology results are still pending. The investigation into the crash continues.
Investigators are speaking with other Liverpool High Schoo students about the crash. Published reports say Deverso and Chelesa Kuss had skipped school and were headed home from Sylvan Beach when the crash took place.
Counseling services were available Tuesday at Liverpool High School and Nate Perry Elementary School as friends mourned the death of a classmate who was killed Monday afternoon in a car crash.
Victoria Deverso was killed when the car she was riding in crashed head-on with a van on State Route 31 in Madison County around 3:00 Monday afternoon. The driver of the car, 18-year-old Chelsea Kuss of Syracuse, was injured is in critical condition. The driver of the van, 38-year-old Peggy Blume, was also taken to University Hospital with serious injuries.
According to Liverpool School Superintendent Dr. Richard Johns, counselors and local pastors were on hand to help students and faculty grieve. Johns says Nate Perry School is involved in the counseling because Deverso's younger brother Anthony is in the fourth grade there.
"One of the things that 15, 16, 17-year-old kids have a hard time with is mortality," says Johns. "They see shoot-em-ups and murders on TV, and it's kind of surreal. They really don't stop and consider their actions could put them in jeopardy, and it could ultimately cost them their lives"
Johns also told CNY Central reporter Jessica Cain that the district had scheduled a mock DWI program for later this week, but that has been postponed as officials felt it would not be appropriate so soon after Deverso's death. The mock DWI presentation will be held next Wednesday.
Johns did note that Deverso was skipping school Monday, but would not comment on whether she had been punished for skipping school in the past.
Cain also spoke with Deverso's friends Tuesday afternoon, who shared their feelings about her. They said she was a fun person to be around, and would always make everyone smile. They also said she was close to her brother, and liked jazz dance and cheetah prints.
"Victoria's the most loving, caring, big-hearted person I know," says her friend Alex Larose. "She's just so loving. She's just so easy to love."
