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Grieving parents implore teens: Don't drink, drive

Felix Doligosa Jr. And Hector Gutierrez, Rocky Mountain News

Published March 15, 2007 at midnight

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LAKEWOOD - Standing just 20 feet from where their daughter was killed in a head-on crash, Michelle and Bill Stricklen repeated a heartfelt message Wednesday to nearly 300 grieving teenagers who bid farewell to the high school student.

"Please don't drink and drive!" Michelle Stricklen said in sign language through an interpreter as mourners held a candlelight tribute in memory of her 17-year-old daughter, Samara Stricklen, who was killed 24 hours before.

The crash injured five others, and Samara's friends said the 19-year-old driver she was riding with was in critical condition.

Investigators are looking at the possibility that the driver of the other vehicle, a 16-year-old girl, may have been drinking, according to Steve Davis, Lakewood police spokesman.

Samara's parents, who are both deaf and mute, and other family members stood behind a large white bedsheet held in tribute with the teenager's name spray-painted in red graffiti-style.

Several students who came from Green Mountain and Bear Creek high schools stood on the eastbound traffic lanes of West Alameda Parkway, where the blackened stains left by Tuesday night's mangled vehicles remained eerily visible to the mourners.

"Pray for her, pray for us," Samara's mother said in sign language through interpreter Bert Kondrotis. "Samara loved all of you very much. You were really wonderful to her . . . I want to thank you for all your time to be here tonight."

Samara's father, Bill, added through sign language: "She is now here with us."

The collision happened about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, when the teen driver in an eastbound sport utility vehicle drifted over the center lane on West Alameda Parkway near West Florida Drive and collided with a westbound sedan driven by Samara's friend, according to police.

Stricklen was a passenger in the sedan. She later died at Swedish Medical Center.

Three passengers were riding in the SUV, an apparent violation of Colorado's teen driving law, which states that teenagers who have had their driver's licences for less than six months cannot have other teens in their car, Davis said.

Names of the others involved in the accident were not released, but all attended either Green Mountain or Bear Creek high schools, Davis said. Their conditions were not released.

The teen driver of the SUV could face a charge of vehicular homicide depending on the investigation, Davis said.

Stricklen, a junior, transferred from Green Mountain to Bear Creek High School in October.

Stricklen didn't worry about what others thought about her, said friends, who described her clothing style as one of a kind.

"She was unique," said Travis Denton, 18.

At Bear Creek High School, counselors were available Wednesday to talk with students.

Stricklen took several Advanced Placement classes and her main focus was school, said Principal Phyllis Emrich. "She was a model student," she said.

One of the mourners Wednesday night was Becky Archuleta, the mother of 20-year-old Melanie, who was killed Feb. 24, 2005, in Lakewood by a drunken driver.

"It's been two years, and I still miss my daughter," Archuleta tearfully told the grieving teens. "I don't want it to be any one of you next."

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