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By Jaedda Armstrong
VIRGINIA BEACH
The parents of Joseph "Joey" Fonseca released a statement today thanking hundreds of people who have contacted them since their son died in a car crash Sunday.
"“I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation for the outpouring of love and support from family and friends, including Kempsville and neighborhoing communities. It has been overhwhelming. Please stay focused to the moral and spiritual aspect of this tragic accident. Our prayers also extend to the driver and his family."
The statement from Steve and Brenda Fonseca also notes that a Joey Fonseca memorial fund has been establshed at RBC Centura. Donations can be made at any branch office, according to Mike Fonseca, Joey's uncle.
When Claire Scott and Reed Austin remember their friend and schoolmate Joseph "Joey" Fonseca, they think of how his contagious smile cheered them up when they felt like frowning.
"You could be going through anything, but when you talk to him he always made you laugh," said Scott, 15, a friend of Fonseca's since middle school.
"He was never in a bad mood," said Austin, also 15, who knew Fonseca since he was 10.
His smile is what they want 16-year-old Fonseca to be remembered by, they said Monday, not the way he died.
Fonseca, a sophomore at Kempsville High School, died after the car he was traveling in struck a tree on Avalon Avenue. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The 16-year-old driver of the car, whom police have not identified, was charged with driving under the influence and involuntary manslaughter. He was treated for injuries and taken to Virginia Beach Juvenile Detention Center.
Friends say Fonseca played varsity baseball at Kempsville and loved martial arts.
John Cinnamond, the varsity baseball coach at Kempsville who knew Fonseca for nearly four years, said he was "a very soft-spoken, very well-mannered, great teammate."
"Baseball was his life," said Scott, who said they once played baseball together in the pouring rain.
His "illuminous smile and kind demeanor" is what Michelle Carpino, his w orld h istory teacher, remembers about him.
"He was a good student, got along well with teachers and was well-liked by all of his peers," Carpino wrote in an e-mail.
On Monday night, a Facebook group created in the teen's memory had more than 1,000 members. Classmates wrote poems and shared memories about Fonseca.
Austin, who was on Fonseca's baseball team, said he will miss how Fonseca made the team laugh with funny voices and faces.
"Just looking at him was a blast," he said.
He'll also miss how they would ride bikes and play basketball together.
"He was just the fun kid that everybody could get along with," Austin said. "Everybody liked him."
Fonseca's funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Graham Funeral Home in Chesapeake.
Jaedda Armstrong, (757) 222-5110, jaedda.armstrong@pilotonline.com
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Those drinks
Come in such a variety of flavors and the alc. content is so high I've seen a grown man get sloppy after drinking one. I saw a child of about 10 yrs old buying a non alc energy drink the other day and it occured to me like it has many of you, I'm sure, that these beverage companies are marketing to this extremly young generation. They are trying to pull the 8-15 crowd in by designing thier cans similar to these overly hyped energy drinks.
Think back to your first drink, let it be a swig from your parents whiskey bottle or a stolen beer from Dad's fridge. Now imagine that first drink tasted like grape soda, or fruit punch, or watermelon candy. These drinks are not only dangerous, but addictive just try one and if the hangover doesn't kill you the next can will.
I am sorry for the parents loss, I'm sure they were good boys just trying to have a good time.
I wish I could find you
I wish I could find you people that are saying things that you should keep to yourself. This is a tragic incident, I will not call and accident. I have had a few good friends die from drunk drivers, I do not approve of drunk driving, but I will always keep in mind how EVERYONE loses.
Have a heart and remember that the family members on both sides read this so keep your negative comments to yourself.
There is a tragic loss of life, lets learn from it and do something about it in the future. You can never control what your kids are doing, you were a child once too, you know kids dont listen, and kids will rebell, but we as parents can do what we can to make sure they know what can happen, that's all we can do. It would be nice if children respected parents like they used to, but we all know it doesnt happen that way.
Bottom line............have a heart with your comments
Compassion Needed
Compassion is needed for both families of the tragedy, and given the fact the driver and the deceased were good friends traveling together, the teenage driver needs compassion too. Regardless of any legal ramifications in the works or served, the knowledge his error resulted in the death of a good friend will work torture in his psyche for longer then any prison term the harshest posters here are clamouring for. Sometimes, as in this case, lessons are learned the hard way. For those of you with children, teach your children using these two youth's hard learned lesson so that perhaps their plights will not have been for nothing. For those feeling the ache of a loved one lost, take comfort in the good memories you had with Joey. And for those who are greiving for the loss of innocence of the teenage driver involved, give your support and guidence to him as he will have to navigate through terrible mental anguish for a long time concerning this tragedy. He will need that love and support more then ever before. Compassionate Blessings to all.
I agree...
the fact that he knows he was responsible of his friends death is far worse than any sentence; should one be given, to him from the judicial system. So sad...I'm glad to see the compassion on the victims parents end...obviously he must have been a good guy seeing how his parents are handling this whole thing.
Where did they get the alcohol?
Lets also look at the accessability of these kids to get alcohol!! For crying out loud, there are parents, ( and you know who you are) who provide the place and alcohol for some of these kids to get " hammered" (as they call it. The adults justification is I would rather them drink here as somewhere else! That is a poor excuse for allowing someone who is a minor consume a substance which will totally impair their judgement and believe that it is ok? Come on, we need to hold the people or person who contributed to these kids consuming the substance also! Come on MAD lets get this on the table!! Too much of this is going on and on the other hand parents are not checking on their children, they assume they are going to stay at Johnnys house! Well think about what you did as a teen to get to do what you wanted!
This is a sad time for all involved in this terrible incident, We can make some postive out of it if we really care what is going on out there with our youth!!
stop blaming parents
Every child earns the respec of thier parents and every child loses it at some point.
Kids get alc. in many ways. Beer runs, Bums, that older friend with a fake ID. All it takes is the right peer pressure and yes even YOUR kid will fall. If you have a teen in your home I urge you to find out what they are into. Especially today, 4/20 might be your childs gateway date. Good luck and watch out for those blistering red eyes!
I just have to say that it's
I just have to say that it's pathetic that many of you want to get on here and talk crap about these boys and their decisions. This was a very unfortunate mistake, but I am positive that each and every one of you has made some kind of mistake when driving that could have turned out terribly, whether it involved alcohol or not. Especially at the age of sixteen. The purpose of having a juvenile court system is so when juveniles make a mistake they have the opportunity to stay out of the system instead of being labeled a criminal their entire life. Someone said something about the boy who was driving needing to be held accountable and if it were "your" child, you would have a different opinion. Well I lost my mother in a car accident due to someone elses negligence, and the man who was driving her was not charged with involuntary manslaughter. Because mistakes happen. Not to mention the fact that the boy who was driving will be punished for the rest of his life, be it by our court system or by his own conscience. He has to live every day with the fact that a decision he made killed one of his best friends whose funeral he is not even allowed to attend. So ask yourselves if you would r
16 year old
If you think my comments are not appropriate that is fine but it is still my opinion that 16 year olds are not able to make the decisions that adults are required to make and are punished differently for, when things go wrong. My view is if they are old enough to drive they should be held to the same standards of punishment as those who are 18 and above. I have stated in another post concerning another 16 year old who lost control of his car and killed another driver that either limit the driving age to 18 or emancipate the 16 year old when he gets a license,then there would be no disparity about, will he get the same punishment as some one 18 or older. It would go a long way to making a 16 year old realize his responsibility if the consequences of their actions were on a level playing field as adults.
Heartbreaking....
I am a parent of three teens so I know all about the worry that parents go through any time their children go out into the world, especially as inexperienced drivers. Since teenagers often feel invincible and truly don't believe anything bad will happen to them, they are capable of making very bad choices. Choices that change lives forever.
My heartfelt condolences and prayers got out to the families and friends of these two boys. I cannot imagine your pain.
P.S. There really is no need for anyone not associeated with these families to know the name of the driver.
Not that it would have helped. . .
But the driving age should be no less than 18 years old. Letting a little child drive a 2+ ton vehicle is absolutely ridiculous.