'Gone But Never ForgotTEN'

As Michael Jackson songs played on the car stereo, teens and their parents crowded onto the sidewalk and front lawn of a residence Monday night where two 2010 Hatboro-Horsham High School graduates died following a car crash. 

With candles flickering, hundreds gathered during a roughly three-hour candlelight vigil Monday night to share warm embraces, grieve together and honor the lives of Robert Walker Nagel, 19, of Ambler, and Edward Taylor Coombs, 19, of Horsham, who died in a at Wade Avenue, just off of Witmer Road early Saturday morning. 

"These two boys played lacrosse with my son," said a Horsham man who asked to remain anonymous. "It's a very, very sad situation ... Being a father it's just unimaginable."

Teens donning red T-shirts with "Gone But Never ForgotTEN" printed in black and white letters on the back - in remembrance of the pair of 2010 classmates taken too soon - mingled with Hatboro-Horsham peers, parents and faculty for the somber occasion.

The somewhat impromptu vigil, which began around 7 p.m. according to Horsham Police, was expected to conclude around 10 p.m., due in large part to the residential area in which the crash occurred. Police and fire officials directed traffic and provided lighting once the sun went down. 

Homeowner Joe Foulke, whose 600 Wade Avenue residence is where the crash occurred, gave the ok for the vigil. Foulke said Hatboro-Horsham's lacrosse coach had contacted him to get permission -something Foulke said he and his wife didn't even think about.

"There's really no reason why I shouldn't let them do it," Foulke said, as hundreds were practically camped on his front lawn and several dozen roamed the backyard, the site where the 2007 Honda Accord driven by Connor James McNicholas made its final stop. "If we can be of service to them in some small way ..."

Foulke said the community is mourning and is understandably "searching for some kind of resolution." Since the crash occurred on his property, Foulke said he understands why the vigil and makeshift memorials have landed on his front lawn. 

"The neighbors actually expressed some sympathies to us," said Foulke, whose trees were hit during the one-car collision. "I view our loss nowhere near approaching the loss the parents suffered. It's a little bit of property damage. That's easy to fix."

A much harder fix, for the community as a whole, is coming to terms with the loss of two young lives.

"They need to grieve," said the Horsham man of the dozens of teens hugging, crying and holding their candles firmly.

are slated for Wednesday and Friday, respectively. 

Meanwhile, as the grieving process continues, the Montgomery County District Attorney's office, in conjunction with Horsham Police, are continuing with their investigation. 

First Assistant District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said it's too soon to know if McNicholas will face any charges stemming from the crash.

"There are a number of investigative avenues we are pursuing, as well as waiting for expert reports on blood analysis and crash reconstruction," Steele said. 

McNicholas and two other passengers, Darryl Neville, Jr., 18, of Darby, and Timothy Kurpiel, 19, of Horsham, survived the one-vehicle crash. 

According to a press release issued by the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, one of the occupants said the car's speedometer read 99 MPH seconds before the crash. Police also learned that the teens had just left a party where they were drinking beer and/or mixed drinks.

The Horsham father of a fellow Hatters lacrosse player said too much focus has been put on the alcohol the teens were said to have had prior to the crash.

"They don't know that everybody in that car had a drink," he said. "Talk about two lives that were taken at an early age."

As for whether Nagel and Coombs' deaths will serve as a wake-up call for safer driving, particularly among young people, the man seemed unsure.

"You always hope it is," he said. "But, who knows? They're teenagers."