Tragedy starts prom night/ Young man killed in crash while driving

Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Apr 29, 2003 by DANIELLE NIEVES

A prom celebration turned tragic after a young man driving his friends to dinner Saturday was killed when he ran a stop sign.

Ryan Stoddard, 18, was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from his sport utility vehicle after crashing into a car at the intersection of Furrow Road and Colorado Highway 105 about 4:35 p.m, the Colorado State Patrol said. He died of head injuries early Sunday morning at Penrose Hospital.

Earlier Saturday, he had dressed in a tuxedo and picked up his date, Jessica Christiros. The two were headed to dinner with another couple before attending Christiros' prom at Lewis-Palmer High School.

Moments before the crash, Stoddard and his friends stopped to have pictures taken, said his father, Mark Stoddard.

The excitement of the day probably distracted his son, Stoddard said.

"He just didn't pay attention and didn't see a stop sign," he said.

In the SUV with Ryan Stoddard were Christiros, 17, Chris Roth, 20, and Brenda Marcom, 17.

Stoddard was driving south on Furrow Road when he ran a stop sign at the intersection of Colorado 105. He collided with a car traveling west on the highway and driven by Ron Schwarz, 42.

Christiros was thrown from the truck. She was not wearing a seat belt.

She suffered neck injuries and was taken to Penrose Hospital, where she was treated and released.

Roth and Marcom, who were wearing seat belts, were uninjured.

Schwarz, the driver of the second car, and his passengers, Brent Schwarz, 9, and Hunter Jordan, 10, suffered minor cuts.

Ted Bauman, superintendent of Lewis-Palmer School District 38, said both girls were students at Lewis-Palmer High School.

"It's really a sad thing," Bauman said.

Bauman said many students drive to Denver for dinner and return in the evening for the dance and after-prom activities.

Like other high schools, Lewis-Palmer organizes after-prom activities for students to keep them safe and off the road. Stoddard attended Coronado High School until February, when he left to earn his GED.

He loved cars and decided to leave high school to attend Denver's Automotive and Diesel College, his father said. He dreamed of being a mechanic.

"He was doing really well in school and looking forward to a bright future," he said.

Stoddard said his son wanted to be an organ donor, and someone received his organs.

"I would try to encourage parents to have their kids wear seat belts," Mark Stoddard said.

"If he would have been wearing a seat belt, he would have been OK."

Stoddard is survived by a 17-year-old brother and a 13-yearold sister.

Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. today at Vista Grande Baptist Church, 5680 Stetson Hills Blvd.