Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 30, 1994 TAG: 9412300147
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
When a church member asked recently if he wanted to take a break from the weekly duty, the 16-year-old Patrick Henry High School student said, "No, I like doing it."
"He was just a great kid," said Seth's uncle, Dr. Vearl McBride. "But even great kids can do stupid things sometimes."
Thursday morning, when his father, Daniel Anderson, went to his son's bedroom to rouse him for work, Seth didn't wake up.
Dr. William Massello, the assistant deputy chief medical examiner, said results of the autopsy will take several weeks, but the cause of death probably was a drug overdose. Massello would not say what drug he suspected.
The family is not sure exactly what happened in the hours before Seth's death, but they know it was a senseless mistake.
"If that is the case," Daniel Anderson said, "it was an experimental thing. I don't think [Seth] had any idea what a potent and dangerous thing" drug use can be.
Anderson said Seth's friends told him his son had never used illegal drugs. McBride said his nephew stayed busy playing soccer in a city league and was active with the church youth group.
Seth was scheduled to head out Thursday on a two-day camping trip - an outing that would have brought him within reach of his goal of becoming an Eagle Scout.
At 6 a.m. each school day, Seth would join other high school students at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for a seminary program, McBride said.
He worked part time with his father at Friendship Manor Pharmacy, delivering orders.
This is the second trauma for Patrick Henry students this holiday season. On Dec. 21, Cristina Pruitt was severely burned in a fire that killed her mother and three of her siblings in Franklin County.
His father says Seth's death should be a lesson for parents, and especially teen-agers who feel immune to any risk - even experimental drug use.
"It makes me want to grab everyone and shake them until they understand how treacherous this is," Anderson said.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***