Teens, killed in car crash, remembered
Amidst a special program on Saturday, the friends and family Seneca High School remembered the three Bhutanese young men killed two weeks earlier at a railroad crossing.
“These were fine young men with promising futures,” said Seneca High School Principal Kim Harbolt.
The car they were travelling had collided with a train at Crawford and Buechel avenues on March 14.
News reports earlier appeared mention that public officials had flagged the crossing as needing safety improvements and had planned to build crossing gates there.
The three boys were current and former Jefferson County Public Schools high school students: Chita Chuwan, 16; Suk Man Rai, 19; and Nagin Thapa, 17. One other occupant of the vehicle, Kismat Mishra, a student at Waggener High, survived but remains in the hospital.
They had attended different schools, including Seneca, Fern Creek and Iroqois high schools.
Prayers of recovery were sent to Mishra by several speakers, including Basanta Phuyel, a Fern Creek High School student.
“Everyone is thinking about you in the hospital,” he said.
More than 150 people attended the memorial service, which was led by the Bhutanese Society of Kentucky in English and Nepali languages.
“We miss you our brothers,” said Prem Sunuwar, vice president of the society. “We are very saddened. There is nothing to mend our broken hearts, other than to say goodbye forever.”
Bhim Koirala, public relations coordinator for the society, told the gathering that the accident rate for refugee communities in the United States is high. He said a new life in the United States brings many opportunities, but functioning in a new environment isn’t easy.
Darko Mihaylovich, a Catholic Charities program director, said he would welcome new discussions with city and other local officials on how to improve safety for resettled teenagers.
Adrienne Eisenmenger with Kentucky Refugee Ministries said all four had been playing soccer together the night before the fatal crash.
Devi Subedi, founder of the Bhutan-American Sports Council, described all four as great team players who exhibited good sportsmanship.
“Our hearts go out to these departed souls,” he said.