Whidbey gathers for vigil, healing after horrific tragedy

Published 2:40 pm Tuesday, November 15, 2011

LANGLEY — From lifelong friends to casual acquaintances, weeping relatives to stunned mourners, they sat in darkness, illuminated only by the light of flickering candles.

Hundreds gathered at the grandstands next to the football field at South Whidbey High School on Saturday night to mourn the three young men killed in a car crash overnight. All three, 22-year-old Rob Knight, 20-year-old Mick Poynter and 19-year-old Mack Porter, were SWHS graduates.

“Memories leave nothing to look forward to,” said Cory Soto, a friend to all three. “I wish there could be more than just that.”

The three victims died in a car crash around midnight Friday. According to the Washington State Patrol, the driver of the vehicle had been drinking and speeding. She survived, and is currently in Island County jail on charges of vehicular homicide.

Soto was one of a handful of mourners who spoke to the crowd at Saturday’s vigil.

“It’s a decision that people make all the time, whether or not to drink or drive, to stay or to go, to have somebody DD (designated drive) even if the other person is just slightly drunk,” Soto said.

“It’s a decision that can leave you with just a memory. And that’s nothing to look forward to.”

News of the terrible crash spread quickly on the South End, and the vigil marked the first chance for the community to share its grief. Many held candles that flickered in the blustery wind, some small flames not strong enough to make it on their own for long.

That led Mike Berry, a youth pastor at Christian & Missionary Alliance Church in Langley, to offer a point of hope.

“Just as we continue lighting each other’s candles as they go out, so can we keep their memories alive,” Berry told the crowd.

A public memorial for Knight is planned for 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18 at Trinity Lutheran Church.

Services for Poynter and Porter have not yet been announced. A memorial fund has been set up for Poynter at Whidbey Island Bank.

Soto said he had known Poynter since kindergarten, and he met Knight in high school. He also lived next to Porter for the past two years.

“Rob is like a brother to me; I’ve been with him through thick and thin,” Soto said. “I’ve hated him and I’ve loved him, and it’s a tough tie to break.”

The events that led to the crash left him sorrowful as he addressed the mourners and spoke about decision-making.

“Decisions in life are made easily, and sometimes they’re made too easily,” Soto said. “But when it’s a decision that can leave you with nothing but a memory of that person or of yourself, you’re leaving yourself too vulnerable. There’s too many things that are too precious in this life to just be left to memories.”

After almost 90 minutes outside, the mourners moved into the high school commons to continue the remembrance.

Classes at South Whidbey were on a normal schedule Monday, but four grief counselors were available to talk to students and staff throughout the day. Bayview School had two counselors, as well.

“They’ll be on campus as long as we need them to be there,” said South Whidbey District Superintendent Jo Moccia.

“We’re providing the support that students need,” she said. “We’re handling it with a lot of compassion for staff and students.”