A tragedy

Lindsey went to St. Ignatius' high school's homecoming dance on Saturday night. We had told her that, contrary to what she wanted to do, she had to be home by midnight. Her and her friends were "planning" on have a bonfire after the dance and her plan was to be home by 1:30 a.m. As my husband pointed out to her, we have a curfew in our city for 15 year old. Generally, on a Saturday it is 11:00 p.m. During the week it is 10:00 p.m. The only exception is if the kids are with their parents or coming home from work or an event (sponsored by school, church or community). If they are coming home from an event, they have an hour after the event ends to get their little butts home. She wasn't happy.

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However, on Saturday, she went to the dance. They went to dinner before and she was home by 11:30. Wow, I couldn't believe it but was thrilled because I was really tired. Up until I saw her face.
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One of the sophomore's at St. Ignatius died that afternoon in an ATV accident. Of course, the rumor that went through the dance was that he and his buddies (or their dates) had been in an accident on the way to the dance. It wasn't until the next morning that all the details became clear.

St. Ignatius High School student Daniel Murphy dies in ATV accident hours before homecoming dance
Homecoming dance turns into vigil for University Hts. youth
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Robert L. Smith
Plain Dealer Reporter

The homecoming dance turned into a sudden and solemn vigil Saturday night at St. Ignatius High School, when students learned that one of their classmates had died that day in an ATV accident.

Fifteen-year-old Daniel Murphy, a sophomore honors student at St. Ignatius, was one of four classmates riding an all-terrain vehicle in a wooded area near one of the boys' homes in Solon when it crashed into a tree. Three other teens were injured, one seriously.

Murphy rowed for the crew team at St. Ignatius, and he and the other three had competed just hours earlier in the 14th Annual Head of the Cuyahoga Rowing Regatta in the Flats. He was expected at the homecoming dance that night.

School officials planned to break the news to Murphy's teammates at the dance by pulling them aside. But word of the tragedy had already begun to spread as the dance began, and students instinctively made for the chapel a short walk from the gym on Lorain Avenue at West 30th Street.

Soon, most of the dance crowd had poured into the chapel, the young men in suits, their dates in summer dresses. Many expressed shock. Jesuit priests led them in prayer. A vigil emerged. Crew coach Matt Previts wept to see it.

"It's kind of amazing to see them rally around each other this way," he said, choking back emotion.

"Every one of them, they all left the dance. It's a vigil for Danny. It's beautiful."
Students lingered in small groups in the chapel lobby, some crying, some holding one another in hugs. Slowly, they began to make their way back across the campus to the gym and an unforgettable homecoming.

According to Solon police, the four teens were riding a single ATV in a wooded area behind houses that border the South Chagrin Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks. Police received a 9-1-1 call about 3:35 p.m. and arrived to find Murphy unconscious.

According to students at the dance, Murphy was driving the ATV when it crashed into a tree. Two of the students leapt from the four-wheeled vehicle before the crash and suffered minor injuries.

Daniel Loyke, also a St. Ignatius sophomore, suffered leg and head injuries and was flown to MetroHealth Medical Center. The accident occurred near his house on Birch Circle.
"He busted up his knee. He's going to be OK," Previts said.

Both had rowed on different varsity eight-man boats for Ignatius in the men's junior race at 1 p.m. in the regatta, which drew more than 1,000 rowers from six states and Canada.

Two and a half hours later, the ATV crashed. Murphy was dead at the scene, police said. The Cuyahoga County coroner's office is likely to do an autopsy today.

Known as "Murph," he was a quiet leader who showed his heart through his work ethic, said Peter Corrigan Jr., St. Ignatius principal. "We struggle to put words to what we are feeling tonight. We stand in solidarity with the Murphy family and all who mourn Daniel," he said in a statement.

The University Heights youth was the son of educators. His father, Paul Murphy, teaches religion at John Carroll University. His mother, Marcia Leous, teaches theology at Beaumont High School in Cleveland Heights.

"He's the kind of boy that every father wishes he had," Previts said. "He's the kind of young man every coach wishes he had more of."

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What a tragedy for Danny and his family and, as a parent of a 15 year old, I just don't know how you go on. I know you do, but as Lindsey sobbed on Saturday night, you just wonder. Please keep Danny and his parents and all the students who prayed for him and will pray for him this week in your prayers. His funeral is Thursday and it is going to be a really tough day and week for everyone.

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Yesterday, when Lindsey and I talked about it, we discussed what his parents were going through and the girl that was waiting for Danny to pick her up to go to the dance and his classmates and their dates.

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We talked about the impact of one action and why you should never go to bed or leave the house on angry words . . . even when you are angry or hurt. And it goes both ways. She said that she hoped that Danny was the kind of kid that still gave hugs to his parents and told them that he loved them and, in a very special way, I was hoping that his parents were the kind of parents that still gave hugs to their son and told him that they loved him every chance they got. Because, you never know when it may be the last time.