WARREN, Ohio (AP) — Hundreds of mourners in a northeast Ohio community flocked to the first of six funerals for the teenagers killed when a speeding sport utility vehicle crashed last weekend.
A wake and funeral services were held Friday for 15-year-old Kirklan Behner. Family and friends say the ninth-grader loved to make others laugh and was known to shovel snow or carry groceries to help neighbors.
Warren Mayor Doug Franklin says Behner "had a joyful spirit that was contagious."
He and five more teens drowned Sunday when an SUV struck a guardrail and flipped into a swampy pond in Warren, about 50 miles southeast of Cleveland.
Authorities say the 19-year-old driver didn't have a valid license. Her funeral is Saturday.
Four other funerals are planned between Sunday and Tuesday.
