Schools remember 2 Milwaukee teens killed in crash

Two school communities expressed grief and offered support Monday to a Milwaukee family after two high-school students were killed in a weekend car crash.

Latrey Lamont Hale and Demetrius Batchelor Jr., both 15, died from injuries received in a crash about 8:30 p.m. Friday in the 3400 block of N. 35th St. The teens were in the backseat of a 1999 Ford Taurus driven by a 17-year-old licensed driver who was the registered owner of the car, according to family and police sources.

The teens in the car were relatives and had been playing basketball that evening, said Todd Willems, principal at Messmer High School, where Batchelor was a freshman.

“They were being together as a family, enjoying time together, and it led to the same kind of mistake that kids anywhere in any part of the state or country could have made,” said Willems, who said he had spoken briefly with Batchelor’s mother after the crash.

“These kids were good kids," he said.

Investigators believe the 17-year-old driver was speeding when he lost control of the car and crashed into a tree, splitting the car in two and ejecting the driver and three passengers, according to reports from the Milwaukee County medical examiner’s office.

The driver and one passenger were taken to a hospital. Police said they remained hospitalized but are expected to survive. The medical examiner’s reports list the preliminary manner of death for Hale and Batchelor as an accident.

Hale was a student at Bradley Tech High School and was remembered with a moment of silence Monday during a kick-off rally for Milwaukee Public Schools at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Batchelor was “a tremendously positive young man” and participated in a summer program for incoming freshman, Messmer 101, before starting school less than two weeks ago, Willems said.

Messmer, a Catholic high school, convened a special assembly for students and faculty Monday morning to pray for the family, Willems said.

“It's been a devastating blow,” he said.

An online donation page to support funeral and medical costs has been shared widely on social media by the teens' relatives and can be found at www.gofundme.com/2m53qyk.