Three E.E. Smith High School football players who died in a wreck last week were remembered with a tribute held Tuesday at South View High School prior to the game between the teams.
Nicholas Williams, Trevor Merritt, and Jai’hyon Elliott were killed last week in a single-vehicle crash on Rosehill Road. The three were passengers in a car driven by Dymond N. Monroe, who remains in critical condition at a medical facility, according to Fayetteville police. In an update Wednesday, the police department said excessive speeding appeared to be the main contributing factor to the fatal crash.
The Golden Bulls were scheduled to take on South View on Friday, but the game was delayed until now.
The decision to play was left up to the team, E.E. Smith Principal Larry Parker said Tuesday.
“We didn’t want to rush them into anything,” Parker said. “They wanted to play. They’re football players.”
The other students believed it was what their teammates would have wanted, he said.
The ceremony was held on the South View football field before the game began. Family members stood to one side of a table placed on their field. They grasped large gold balloons shaped into the number on each of the players’ jerseys.
They were presented with commemorative helmets with each player’s jersey number on the side and balloons that were later released. The families were also presented with commemorative stoles, a garment around the wreck worn by clergy.
Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin, who was unable to attend, sent a resolution, signed by Colvin and Mayor Pro Tem Kathy Jensen, honoring Williams, Merritt, and Elliott. Council Member Mario Benavente, an alumnus of E.E. Smith, was in attendance.
Cumberland County Board of Education members were also present as were administrators and staff from both high schools.
“On behalf of the Cumberland County Board of Education, I would like to share our heartfelt love and condolences to the families of Jai’hyon, Trevor, and Nick, and also with the entire community of E.E. Smith High School,” said Deanna Jones, the board chair.
“Please note that you are not alone,” Jones continued. “We stand with you in this moment of deep loss and we are inspired by the strength and unity you have shown. These young men will forever be remembered, not only for their gifts and talents but for the light they brought into the lives of others.”
The return to school was “surreal” and “eerie,” Parker said, but the outpouring of love and support from the community has helped students and staff.
“There’s no script for this,” Parker said of the impact of the students’ deaths. “We take it one day at a time, one hour at a time, trying to figure out how to navigate this.”
The deaths have changed the school forever, he said.
“It will never be the same. No parent should have to bury their children. It shouldn’t take an event like this to show how important they are and how precious life is,” Parker said.
