'You never know when it's going to be your last day'

Kelsi Holcomb, an 18-year-old senior at Nixa High School, remembers her friend Landon C. Potts as someone who dressed like a cowboy, loved the rodeo and was always smiling as he walked the hallways at school.

Potts, a 17-year-old junior, was one of four young men who died in a one-vehicle accident near Highlandville on Wednesday night. Potts was driving his 1999 Chevrolet Silverado when it left the road.

Holcomb has played a key role in organizing a candlelight vigil for the four dead teenagers at 5 p.m. Sunday at the Union Hill Church of Christ, 1¹/₂ miles north of the high school on Nicholas Road. The church's address is 865 N. Nicholas Road.

"I feel that I need to be there for the family, and I know that the school and the community want to be there as well," she said. "It is the least I could do for them."

Holcomb also knew Cody Uber and Logan A. Middleton, both 19 and Nixa High graduates. She did not know Lance D. Porterfield, 19, of Sparta, the fourth person who died. He also was involved in rodeo.

Uber played football at Nixa, was also involved in rodeo and was attending Missouri State University. Middleton was a standout basketball player in high school. Four other male teens were in the pickup when it crashed into a tree.

The tragedy has awakened Holcomb to the frailty of life.

"It makes me think that you never know when it is going to be your last day," she said. "This one really opened up my eyes. Your family is one of the most precious things in your life. Once it is gone, you don't get it back."

Holcomb said wrote a poem she plans to read at the vigil.

Medical conditions were upgraded Friday for two 19-year-olds injured in the crash. The condition of Dylan Wright, of Ozark, was upgraded to stable, according to a CoxHealth spokeswoman. He had been in critical but stable condition.

William M. Ramage, of Nixa, was discharged. He had been in stable condition on Thursday — Thanksgiving Day.

The Rev. Steve Martin, pastor of the Union Hill Church of Christ, said none of the four teens who died has a connection to his church. In the past, he said, the church has served as a gathering point in times of grief involving the high school based on its proximity.

Martin said he expected the vigil to be held outside the church because of the warm weather forecast and because it would be safer to light so many candles outside rather than inside.

Martin has been a fire and law enforcement chaplain in Christian County for 15 years and has consoled many who have lost loved ones. He received a call — as chaplain — soon after the Wednesday night crash but was unable to respond.

He said he does not know if there are ever words that can console a parent who has lost a child.

"I think one of the problems we often have is that we have to make sense of things," Martin said. "For the families that are experiencing such grief, the idea is not to try to explain it, but to stand with them in their grief. It's not about words. More often than not, we say too much.

"A candlelight vigil is not about words," he said. "It's about standing with them with these lights in the darkness. That is sometimes one of the most profound things you can do for people."

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the pickup was southbound on Pleasant View Road, just south of O Highway west of Highlandville, when it left the road and struck a tree.

The report does not say where the eight people were located in the vehicle. The truck had an extended cab, according to patrol spokesman Jason Pace. That model — with the extended cab — seats six.

Pace said it appears the truck was descending a hill and the driver was attempting to negotiate a curve toward the right when the truck crossed opposing lanes, ran off the left side of the road and — as it began to overturn — hit the tree.

The speed of the truck had not yet been determined, he said.

The location of the crash does not raise suspicions of "hilltopping," according to Pace. Hilltopping is the practice of driving fast over hills to get airborne.

Pace also said that alcohol does not appear to be a factor, although blood testing is done in all traffic fatalities in Missouri.

None of the four who died was listed in the report as wearing a seat belt. They were pronounced dead at the scene. (According to obituary information, Porterfield died on Wednesday and Uber and Middledton died on Thursday.)

Wright and Ramage were listed as wearing a seat belt.

The two other teenagers in the pickup suffered minor injuries. They are Wyatt T. Beebe and Tyler R. Rollings, both 18, of Nixa. The report says Beebe was wearing a seat belt, but Rollings was not.

A CoxHealth helicopter sent to help the injured hit a power line while landing and incurred some damage, a Cox spokeswoman said. It was unable to fly from the scene.

Funeral services

Logan Andrew Middleton, 19

Visitation 5-8 p.m. Saturday at Greenlawn East Funeral Home, 3540 E. Seminole St., Springfield. Funeral service Sunday at 2 p.m. at Ridgecrest Baptist Church, 2210 W. Republic Road, Springfield.

Lance Dale Porterfield, 19

Visitation at 1 p.m. Sunday at Sparta High School, 217 Division St., Sparta, followed by a 3 p.m. funeral service at the high school, followed by burial at the Sparta Cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of Adams Funeral Home, Ozark.

Landon Chance Potts, 17

Visitation 1-3 p.m. Monday at Nixa Assembly of God, 113 W. Mt. Vernon St., Nixa. Funeral service at 3 p.m. Interment to follow at Delaware Cemetery.

Cody Roy Uber, 19

Visitation 6-8 p.m. Sunday at the Adams Funeral Home, 109 N. Truman Blvd., Nixa. Funeral service at 10 a.m. Monday at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 911 W. Mt. Vernon St., Nixa. He will be buried at the Glenn Cemetery, south of Nixa.