Friends and family of two Brookville High School boys killed in a one-car crash Thursday in Perry Twp. will gather from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Monday, June 28, at Gilbert-Fellers Funeral Home in Brookville.
Benjamin T. Sievers, 15, of Brookville, and Michael D. Rhoades, 16, of Brookville were killed at 3:40 p.m. when a 2006 Chevrolet Impala that Sievers was driving at an undetermined, but excessive speed hit a crest on Air Hill Road, went left of center, struck a tree and caught fire, according to the Ohio Highway Patrol. Neighbors used kitchen fire extinguishers in an attempt to put out the fire until emergency crews arrived, according to reports.
Brookville students began congregating at the scene after the crash, prompting school officials to send counselors which were also available at school Friday.
Sievers "loved to play basketball, football and baseball. He finished the school year with a 3.78 G.P.A. and will be remembered as a great friend who could always make you laugh," according to his obituary.
Rhoades also enjoyed sports, "but more than that, he loved spending time with his brothers, his close friends, his XBOX and his cell phone," according to his obituary.
Both families will receive friends from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at the funeral home, 950 Albert Road in Brookville.
Sievers' services are to be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the funeral home. Rhoades' funeral will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Sycamore Ridge Church in Brookville.
The Sievers family asks that donations be made to the Brookville Scholarship Foundation in lieu of flowers. The Rhoades family plans to establish a scholarship in Michael Rhoades' name.