Students ponder consequences a year after their friend died

Wounds only heal so much a year after tragedy.

Tessa Trenchant's death left Kellam High School's students to mend the gash left by losing one of their own. Slowly, they're doing so.

Family and schoolmates gathered March 30 for Remembering Tessa, an assembly marking one year since the 16-year-old was killed by a drunken driver. Students heard the recollections of family and friends who were important in Tessa's life.

They learned that the usually self-assured and cheery teen wasn't always that way. There was at least one day in the fifth grade when she refused to smile, too self-conscious about the eye-catching new braces on her teeth, teacher Jamie Arnett recalled.

There was also the day Missy Hickling met Tessa and her sister, Kelsey, now a Kellam sophomore.

The two were playing in their yard, and Kelsey was sporting a "unique haircut" that Hickling later learned was courtesy of her big sister. The pair looked just like the little girls she had always seen pictured in children's storybooks - giggling, laughing and sharing secrets.

"She was just like a real-life doll to me," said Hickling, their former baby-sitter. "They both inspired me to have my own children, and for that I'm really thankful."

Tessa's untimely death also inspired those at her school. Her empty seat was a reminder about the realities of drinking and getting behind the wheel.

In recent weeks, the school collected about $2,000 to donate to the Southside chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Before the spring break, K ellam students sported aqua-green "Remember Tessa," armbands, which they had purchased for $ 1 each.

Principal Bruce Biehl said he's noticed a change in the school.

"The kids could not help but have an opinion because of the coverage," Biehl said, referring to the accident caused by Alfredo Ramos, the illegal immigrant convicted of killing Tessa and Allison Kunhardt, 17, who attended First Colonial.

Ramos is serving a 24-year prison sentence for the accident and will be deported after his release. David Laird, a deputy prosecutor, said at the trial that Ramos had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.24 as he traveled at least 65 mph down Virginia Beach Boulevard. He plowed into the back of the Plymouth Duster containing the teens as they waited at a stoplight.

This year, Kellam has held programs to promote awareness of drinking and driving. In the fall, the school participated in Buckle Up, which stresses the importance of wearing seat belts for safety. Every year, the school also participates in Prom Promise, which requires students to sign a pledge not to drink and drive on prom night.

This year, Kellam will also participate in Every 15 Minutes on April 23 and 24.

"It represents that every 15 minutes there's a fatality," Biehl said of the program, an intense anti-drunken-driving dramatization to illustrate the consequences of alcohol-related accidents.

Every year the school has programs to heighten awareness of drinking and driving, especially before the prom.

"But it's the other 168 days we're in school that you have to worry about," Biehl said. "We hope it carries through for the whole year. These programs definitely serve a purpose."

Seats for the Remembering Tessa assembly, coordinated by the school's National Honor Society, filled up quickly. A display case of mementoes and thoughts memorialized the teen, too.

"I know it's changed my thoughts," said Dana DeLucie, one of Tessa's former classmates. "I think it really did finally click with some people. I know I've heard some people saying they'll never drink and drive again. "

Rita Frankenberry, 222-5102 or

rita.frankenberry@pilotonline.com