Milton High teen dead, two injured

by Jason Wright / Appen Newspapers
May 12, 2009

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A 19-year-old Milton High School senior is dead and his two friends, brothers who both attended MHS at one time, are in North Fulton Regional Hospital after an early morning crash May 12. Police say alcohol and excessive speed caused the accident.

Milton police said 19-year-old Adam Stephens, who was to graduate in a little less than two weeks, was pronounced dead at the scene on New Providence Road near its intersection with Dorris Road.

He was the passenger in a 1972 Chevrolet pickup traveling north on New Providence Road driven by 18-year-old Andrew London. London's 16-year-old younger brother, who police have not identified, was also in the truck.

London apparently lost control of the truck at about 2:37 a.m. allegedly due to excessive speed and alcohol, according to police. The truck flipped twice, ejecting both brothers, said Milton Police Lt. John Borsey.

Milton rescue personnel were on scene in two minutes and took both London brothers to North Fulton Regional Hospital. According to hospital staff, the younger brother is in critical condition. The elder London is in stable condition.

Borsey said the recovering teenager faces several pending charges in the crash including vehicular homicide, DUI, failure to maintain lane, minor in possession of alcohol, open container, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and reckless driving, among others.

Milton High School Principal Ron Tesch said Stephens was a well-liked and popular student. "This is an even deeper tragedy," said Tesch. "You never want to lose anybody, but when you are this close to graduation and you have a young man who is not going to be crossing that line with you, it really hits."

Tesch said Andrew London had graduated from the school last year, and his younger brother had withdrawn from the school in January to be home schooled. Staff and students at Milton were given counselors to provide support in the tough situation, said Tesch."When you have a sudden death like this, there are a lot of kids who have a lot of pain and a lot of need," he said.

Tesch said the situation is devastating. The Class of 2009 has now had three deaths, he said. The other two were Parker Jackson, who died in November 2006, and Will Stough, who died in August 2006."It is hard to fill that void and suddenly realize that someone has been ripped away from the class and the school," said Tesch. "When a student dies, someone at the very edge of a life — this isn't supposed to happen."