''We thought it was an April Fool's joke" - that's what many of Rylee Keeney's Middletown High School classmates were saying Monday when they first learned of the 16-year-old's death.

When they heard Keeney had died in a car accident Saturday in Boonsboro, many of her friends, including Liz Michels, could only think it was a joke. Michels heard the news just before Sunday's curtain call for the high school's production of ''George M!" Keeney will be missed by many, she said.

''Whenever I was down, she would tell me I was a good person. It's sad not to have her here," said the 17-year-old senior with tears streaming down her cheeks. ''I'm going to miss seeing her and hearing her say 'Hi Liz!' and giving me a hug whenever she saw me. I'm in disbelief that she's gone. She was a special person and I'll never forget her. I'm just glad I got to know her."

About 40 classmates joined Michels at the crash site Monday after school. Many of Keeney's teammates on the Galaxy cheerleading squad also showed up. Keeney was a member of the squad for five years.

Galaxy teammate Stephanie Shank, 16, said a plaque will be placed in the cheerleading gym in Keeney's memory.

According to Washington County Sheriff's Office reports, Keeney was driving eastbound on Boonsboro Mountain Road near Gilardi Road at about 9 p.m., Saturday, when the Oldsmobile station wagon she was driving crashed into a utility pole. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Deputy Joshua McCauley, who is investigating the incident, said speed was a contributing factor in the accident.

On Monday at Middletown High many students learned of Keeney's death through an announcement from Principal Kathleen Schlappal.

Keeney was enrolled as a junior at the school, but Frederick County Public Schools spokeswoman Marita Loose said she hadn't attended school in the three weeks prior to her death, as she transitioned to home-schooling.

Loose said Keeney attended Myersville Elementary and Middletown Middle schools, and had been enrolled at Middletown High since ninth grade.

Counselors with the Crisis Intervention Team were at the school, Loose said, to help students through the grieving process.

Though school officials told students Monday not to visit the crash site, Michels, along with many others, made the 20-minute drive across the county line to pay their final respects.

Football player Richard Freysz, 17, placed a handmade cross with ''RIP Rylee Kalyn Keeney 12-23-90 - 3-31-07" on the utility pole where Keeney died. The senior said he knew Keeney for seven years and met her through her brother, Zack.

''I thought [her death] was a joke at first. I didn't think it could happen to us," he said. ''... I thought it could never happen here. She was always the nice girl everyone gravitated towards in a room. She had a smile that could light up the world."

Friends and classmates placed flowers, balloons, stuffed animals and notes around the utility pole. In addition, students used permanent markers to write on the pole to express how much they were going to miss Keeney, whom many described as bubbly, fun to be around, outspoken, strong, generous and an overall great friend.

In addition, students wrote messages of encouragement on a banner that will be given to Keeney's brother, Zack, and sister, Liz, students said.

Middletown special education teacher Kiki Kontos, whose 16-year-old daughter, Georgia, was friends with Keeney since elementary school, said what happened hits too close to home. She visited the site with her daughter Monday afternoon.

''You hope and pray something like this doesn't happen because you don't want accidents like this to wake kids up," she said with tears streaming down. ''She was an amazing friend to my daughter and was always there for her. Our prayers are with the family for God to give them strength to get through this."

As deputies with the Washington County Sheriff's Office monitored and directed traffic on that section of road for about an hour, students huddled together crying and praying. Many students consoled one another through tears and hugs, many of them repeating, ''I can't believe she's gone."