Spencer LaBrie, a 19-year-old Air Force ROTC Student at Texas Tech, was killed in a car crash in Abilene on Saturday morning.
LaBrie's commanding officer, Michael Cartwright, sat down his group Monday morning to tell them what happened.
"Everyone was pretty shocked about it," Cartwright said. "A lot more of his classmates that were with him were grieving. They were a lot more emotional about this who were close to him. Its very traumatic; a very tough time right now for some of these people."
According to the Abilene Police Department, 19-year-old Texas Tech Air Force ROTC student Spencer LaBrie, was driving northbound on South Danville Drive in Abilene at 2:15 a.m. Saturday morning when he failed to stop for a red flashing traffic signal.
Tiffany Haynes, 35, was driving eastbound on South 14th Street when she struck LaBrie's car at the intersection of South 14th and South Danville Dr.
Haynes had the right of way.
That collision killed both LaBrie and his girlfriend in the passenger seat, 27-year-old Jillian Thomas of Haskell.
His ROTC group will travel together to Abilene on Wednesday for LaBrie's funeral.
We're just going to fold a flag in his honor and present it to his mother and were also going to be doing other honors for him at his funeral," Cartwright said. "We're going to make sure his coffin is draped and he gets the full respects."
It's been a deadly holiday weekend on West Texas highways.
Two other men from the south plains were also killed in separate car accidents. Lyndon Howard, 52 from Levelland, rolled his semi truck on US 385 near Amarillo. Just one hour later, 77-year-old Billy Elrod flipped his semi on I-27 south of Canyon.
Cartwright said people need to pay more attention on the road to avoid these deadly accidents, especially during the holiday season.
"It's really eye opening," said Cartwright. "We preach safety all the time. Before the break happened we went over driving safety to make sure to be careful and so it's really shocking when something similar happens. It makes us all wonder what we could have done more."
Visitation for LaBrie will be held Tuesday from 6-8 p.m. at Elmwood Funeral Home in Abilene and his funeral will be at 11 a.m. on Wednesday at Holy Family Catholic Church.
LaBrie's commanding officer, Michael Cartwright, sat down his group Monday morning to tell them what happened.
"Everyone was pretty shocked about it," Cartwright said. "A lot more of his classmates that were with him were grieving. They were a lot more emotional about this who were close to him. Its very traumatic; a very tough time right now for some of these people."
According to the Abilene Police Department, 19-year-old Texas Tech Air Force ROTC student Spencer LaBrie, was driving northbound on South Danville Drive in Abilene at 2:15 a.m. Saturday morning when he failed to stop for a red flashing traffic signal.
Tiffany Haynes, 35, was driving eastbound on South 14th Street when she struck LaBrie's car at the intersection of South 14th and South Danville Dr.
Haynes had the right of way.
That collision killed both LaBrie and his girlfriend in the passenger seat, 27-year-old Jillian Thomas of Haskell.
His ROTC group will travel together to Abilene on Wednesday for LaBrie's funeral.
We're just going to fold a flag in his honor and present it to his mother and were also going to be doing other honors for him at his funeral," Cartwright said. "We're going to make sure his coffin is draped and he gets the full respects."
It's been a deadly holiday weekend on West Texas highways.
Two other men from the south plains were also killed in separate car accidents. Lyndon Howard, 52 from Levelland, rolled his semi truck on US 385 near Amarillo. Just one hour later, 77-year-old Billy Elrod flipped his semi on I-27 south of Canyon.
Cartwright said people need to pay more attention on the road to avoid these deadly accidents, especially during the holiday season.
"It's really eye opening," said Cartwright. "We preach safety all the time. Before the break happened we went over driving safety to make sure to be careful and so it's really shocking when something similar happens. It makes us all wonder what we could have done more."
Visitation for LaBrie will be held Tuesday from 6-8 p.m. at Elmwood Funeral Home in Abilene and his funeral will be at 11 a.m. on Wednesday at Holy Family Catholic Church.
