May 22, 2013

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BHS students remember Bonham teens killed in crash

BONHAM, TX -- It was a somber day at Bonham High School after the death of a second teenager involved in a crash early Saturday morning. Bonham High School Principal Steve Hill says graduate 18-year-old Thomas Calame died Sunday night.

DPS says 17-year-old Jesse Runyon died Saturday after the vehicle they were in slammed into a tree off State Highway 78. Troopers say Calame was driving. They say neither were wearing their seat belt and were both ejected from the vehicle. The accident happened around 3:30 Saturday morning, but two days later some students are still having a hard time believing their friends are really gone.

"It's been rough. It really hasn't hit me yet," Kathleen Brooks said.

"I think in a way a lot of us are still in shock," BHS Assistant Principal Brian Bymaster said.

"This isn't happening. Just not me. Just not them," Kollin Frazier said.

Kollin Frazier was close with both Thomas Calame and Jesse Runyon. He says several of their close friends did not go to school Monday, but he said he needed to.

"I figured that if I came to school and noticed he wasn't here it would register to me he wasn't here," Fraizer said.

Runyon was a senior at Bonham High School and classmates say his absence has left behind silence.

"Jessie he was constantly talking and cutting up and making us laugh, and it was so quiet in there that it was definitely different. It's something we're going to have to get used to," Jenna Toland said.

Calame graduated last year from Bonham, but still remained close with his high school friends -- one being Jesse. Everyone who knew the two say they were good guys.

"If you had to describe them in just a few words they were both good ol' country boys," Bymaster said.

"If something needed to be done. If you needed help with anything Thomas was there. If you needed help financially and Jesse had the money he would give you a few dollars, and a lot of times he wouldn't expect any thing back," Frazier said.

They two would also be sure to brighten your day.

"They had a smile on their face 24/7 and they'd make you laugh I'd guarantee you that," BHS Principal Steve Hill said.

"They were so well liked and goofy. Always had smiles on their faces," Brooks said.

"Both of them were very bold individuals," Toland said.

Friends say life will not be the same without the two young men, but say they are leaning on each other to move past the pain.

"We know that they're gone and that they're never going to come back, but we know this is something we can use to bring ourselves together and to be nicer to each other and understand that every moment needs to be cherished and that life is so short," Toland said.

Tuesday morning around 8:30 students will remember Runyon and Calame by releasing balloons outside the high school. Principal Hill says they have a crisis team helping students cope during school hours.

Troopers say they are still investigating the cause of the crash.


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