Crossville City Schools and the surrounding communities have already experienced more than their fair share of grief in the new year after two teens — one a senior and the other a recent graduate and U.S. Marine — were killed in separate car accidents.
On New Year's Day, a 17-year-old Crossville High School senior was killed in a two-vehicle crash on Alabama Highway 168 in Marshall County, according to The Sand Mountain Reporter. Though State Troopers declined to release the name of the deceased due to his age, the family later identified him as Delfio Reza.
Reza was driving a 2020 Dodge Charger when he collided with a 2011 Dodge Ram. Both vehicles reportedly caught fire, but the driver of the Ram was uninjured.
A few hours later, around 2 a.m. on Monday, 18-year-old Dawson Lasseter was killed in nearby Albertville when he lost control of his vehicle and struck a utility pole. Three passengers also in the vehicle sustained minor injuries. Lasseter was reportedly not wearing his seatbelt.
"They had all been drinking. Alcohol combined with speeding led to an unfortunate outcome," Albertville Police Chief J.T. "Butch" Cartee told The Sand Mountain Reporter.
Dawson was a combat engineer operator in the U.S. Marine Corps. His younger brother, Harley, was killed less than a year ago, in April 2022 in a hit-and-run accident.
On Tuesday, Crossville High School chose to reschedule its basketball games and asked for prayers for the students grieving the loss of their classmates.
"Please pray for Crossville High School and our students as they grieve the loss of a current senior and a recent graduate who both passed away from separate car accidents," the school posted to Facebook. "Due to these tragic accidents, our high school basketball games scheduled for tonight at Valley Head HS have been postponed and rescheduled at a later date."
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email daniel.taylor@1819news.com.
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