DATE: Saturday, August 16, 1997             TAG: 9708160579

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: JEFFREY S. HAMPTON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SOUTH MILLS                       LENGTH:   39 lines

TEENS DIE AFTER CAR WRECK SPEEDING AND ALCOHOL ARE NOT INVOLVED, OFFICIALS SAY

Two teen-agers were killed Thursday when their car skidded into a concrete piling on N.C. Route 343 in Camden County.

Rebecca Gundersen, 14, of Camden died at the scene, and Luke Anthony Denison, 16, of Elizabeth City died on the way to the hospital. The accident occurred at 6:45 p.m.

Denison was driving north on N.C. Route 343 when he apparently hit a pool of water after a hard rain, said Sgt. C.D. Gould of the N.C. Highway Patrol.

The car slid to the left of the road and hit one of the large concrete pilings that support the overpass on U.S. Route 17 about 12 miles north of Elizabeth City, Gould said. The make of the car had not yet been determined.

``It looks like the car tilted up, and it did overhead damage to the car,'' Gould said.

There was no evidence of speeding or alcohol use, he said. Both teens were wearing seat belts.

This is the second accident in about two weeks involving multiple deaths of high school students in northeastern North Carolina. Ten band students were killed in Plymouth July 30 when the driver of their van attempted to pass three vehicles and was hit by a truck.

Denison was a junior at Northeastern High School, and Gundersen was a sophomore at Camden County High School.

``The staff was shocked this morning,'' said Ron Melchoirre, principal at Camden County High School. ``It is a very upsetting thing. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.''

Both schools have set up crisis teams to help faculty or students when school starts next week.

``It's hard to say how they will react,'' said Vann Pennell, assistant superintendent of the Camden County School system. ``We will assist them as needed.'' KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC FATALITIES

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