Brookwood High School junior Daniel Peek, the Broncos' 17-year-old starting quarterback, died at 7:10 p.m. from injuries sustained in a one-car crash near Snellville last Saturday, according to Ted Bailey, chief forensic investigator with the Gwinnett County medical examiner's office.


Peek had been in intensive care since the accident.


Peek died at the hospital. Bailey could not say specifically what he died of, only that he succumbed to his injuries. The medical examiners office plans an autopsy tomorrow.


Shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday, Peek was driving a 1998 Jeep Cherokee southbound on Highpoint Road when he failed to negotiate a curve near Vail Court. The Jeep ran off the road, hit a mailbox and overturned, ejecting Peek, Police Cpl. Darren Moloney said.


Peek was alone in the vehicle and not wearing his seat belt, police said.


Alcohol and speed appear to have contributed to the wreck, police said. A responding officer smelled alcohol on Peek, according to the police report. Police await a toxicology test.


Peek, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound junior, was Brookwood's starting quarterback last season but missed the first two games as one of seven players suspended for breaking an undisclosed team rule.


Brookwood lost those games to state-ranked teams, then went on a nine-game winning streak that included wins over Valdosta and Parkview. Roswell ended Brookwood's season 10-9 in the second round of the Class AAAAA state playoffs.


Peek had transferred from Grayson after eight games of his sophomore season. At Grayson, he was a part-time starter as a freshman and won the job outright the next year, throwing for 725 yards and 12 touchdowns before transferring.


When Peek was in the hospital, junior cornerback Eric Griffin called Peek "a brother to me." Junior tight end Jarrett Mackey described Peek as the best kind of teammate, the kind who could always be counted on.


"Daniel was a free spirit, he was a challenge, he was one of those guys you had to stay after and work hard to make sure he was doing the right things," Brookwood coach Mark Crews said Wednesday night.


"He was making great progress in trying to become the leader we wanted him to be. He was always the kind of athlete you wanted as a quarterback, and he was working very hard to become that kind of leader too. He and I had a lot of talks about what he had to do to develop as a leader. I feel like he was getting ready to turn the corner and become as good a leader as he was a player. And that opportunity has been taken away from him."


Crews added: "He sort of had the world on a string. Talented athlete, great personality, one of those kids who everybody liked and pulled for. And he was making progress in terms of doing all the off-the-field things better...You work so hard to help raise kids and make 'em do right. It's difficult when one of 'em has been ripped away from you."


It was a solemn scene Wednesday night on the campus of Brookwood High School.


Several dozen stunned athletes and students flocked to the lodge, the field house and the school late Wednesday. Groups of teens huddled in parking lots exchanging hugs of comfort. More than two hours after Peek's death, about 100 people, mostly students and players, had made their way to the Brookwood campus.


Many appeared shook up, teary eyed, after hearing the news of Peek's death. News crews were at the school but few, if any, students were willing to talk to the media.


As students and others gathered in different areas of the school campus Wednesday night, some lit candles and placed them on the school's football field in memory of Peek. Many stood at mid-field holding candles or kneeling in a scene unlike the typical action of the football field.