Tribune Chronicle
WARREN - "I love you" were the last words that Brandon Murray said to his mother Saturday night.
Lisa Williamson described her 14-year-old son calling her, saying he wanted to spend the night with his friend Ramone White, who lived two blocks east of the Williamsons' home.
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She was one of many family members who were recalling the teens who died early Sunday.
The boys, Murray and White, were best friends who were always with one another. They often
spent the night at one another's homes. So Williamson, who is a protective mother, thought it was OK for the boys to be together.
The last time Williamson saw her son, he was wearing a Superman T-shirt, gray Levis and black tennis shoes. White had a Batman T-shirt.
About 9 a.m. Sunday, Murray's cousin Mario picked Williamson up and took her to Trumbull Memorial Hospital.
"I did not know why I was being picked up," she said Monday afternoon.
Williamson soon learned that her son and White were among six teenagers killed early Sunday when an SUV they were riding in crashed into a pond along Pine Avenue S.E. Two other teens survived.
Later that day, White's mother went over to Williamson's house to give them condolences.
"That's when I learned he was not at Ramone's house," she said, explaining that the mothers figured out they had been tricked by their sons.
They hugged one another, sharing their grief and pain.
"I've since been told the kids went to a party and they were on the way home," Williamson said. "I told Brandon before that he could not go to house parties."
She described her son, and all of the children who lost their lives Sunday morning, as good kids.
"They were not the kind who got into trouble," she said. "My son went to school. He got good grades. He went to church. These kids were not gang bangers. They were respectful to adults. They were just kids."
Murray was one of eight children in a blended family and wanted to become a chef.
"He was going to take some cooking classes this summer at Kent State University branch," she said.
Still, Williamson said she is not angry.
"He's with God now," she said. "They are all with God. He called them home."
Omar White said he he doesn't want the death of his son Ramone to be in vain.
"Everybody's looking for answers right now," he said. "They want to know this or that. All I know right now is that my son is gone. I wouldn't wish this on any parent. If any good comes of it I hope it teaches people, helps people understand how valuable life is, how important your kids are and that we have to do what we can to help these children before it's too late.
"Know your kids. Know what they're doing. I don't want to see any more kids die, any more parents suffering. Right now, we have to try to help each other get through this. It hurts. This just really hurts."
Sunserae Battee, whose nephew Andrique Bennett, 15, also died in the accident, said his parents are in shock.
"His parents are too broken up right now. They are dealing with the shock," she said, adding that Bennett was a beautiful young man.
"He was known as 'Butter' because he was a butterball," she said, wiping a tear from her eyes. "We recently filmed him eating 15 tacos."
Battee said she was called early Sunday morning when she was preparing to go to morning worship. She was told instead to go to the hospital.
"I thought it was about my brother," Battee said. "When I was told it was about Butter I was knocked back."
Although experiencing her own grief, Battee said she knew she had to put her emotions behind her.
"There were so many other families that were suffering," she said. "I had to be strong for them."
Also killed were Alexis Cayson, 19, Kirklan Behner, 15, and Daylan Ray. Injured were Asher Lewis and Brian Henry.
Tribune Chronicle reporter Virginia Shank contributed to this report.