BURLINGTON, Ky. — Flowers now rest beside a rural Boone County road where 16-year-old Zachary Snyder died Sunday night after the vehicle he was in crashed and overturned.
Stephanie Withorn, a family friend, stood at the scene on Bullittsville Road Monday evening, placing flowers and a small lamp in his memory.
"I just wanted to put some flowers out and a little lamp to light them up," Withorn said. "It's just a memorial for his mom and his sister. I know they haven't been down here today yet, not since we left this morning."
Withorn said she knew Snyder through his sister, her daughter’s best friend.
"Devastation," she said. "It was just terrible hearing his mom scream and cry. Sick to my stomach that a parent has to go through something like that … and now she doesn’t have a son."
WATCH: Community mourns loss of 16-year-old killed in Boone County crash
The sheriff's office said deputies were dispatched at around 10:34 p.m. for the crash.
The investigation has shown that a 17-year-old boy was driving a 2015 Honda Accord along Bullittsville Road when he failed to negotiate a sharp right-hand curve in the road. The teen crossed the center line before over-correcting and driving off the right side of the roadway.
The car hit several trees before overturning and coming to a rest on its top, the sheriff's office said.
Three people survived with non-life-threatening injuries. Snyder was trapped under the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.
Withorn described Snyder as a “sweet kid” in the high school band who had just played cymbals in the Cincinnati Reds’ Opening Day parade. She told us her grandson adored him.
"He would play Legos with my grandson," she said. "He was a good kid, and his mom and sister are just devastated."
Withorn said returning to the crash site in daylight brought new pain for her.
"You see the glass, you see the Gatorade bottles, the marshmallows, money on the ground," she said. "It's just a reminder of what horrific thing happened."
A Boone County spokesperson said the county has recognized the need to widen and straighten Bullittsville Road since 2005 to improve safety and connectivity.
"Bullittsville is certainly a rural road," Boone County engineer Robert Franxsman said. "Speeds can sometimes be higher than a subdivision-type road … and there are more risks on these types of facilities than there typically are in other locations."
The county has made some improvements, including installing rumble strips and flashing lights warning drivers to slow down at the curve.
A resolution is on the agenda for next week’s fiscal court meeting to approve a contract for applying high-friction surface treatment, designed to give vehicles better traction. But officials say it is unclear if it would have made a difference in Sunday night’s crash.
Franxman said widening projects require funding and have not garnered widespread community support.
"The county wants to build projects the community values," Franxman said. "Those large-scale widening projects take funding, and really come with that support from the community in the early stages."
Withorn said she hopes the crash serves as a reminder to both parents and teens to prioritize safety.
"That text message or that phone call your parents ask you for isn’t a pain … it’s because we want to know you’re safe," Withorn said. "Me and my kids always say, ‘I love you … love you, bye.’"
The Boone County Sheriff’s Office says the crash remains under investigation. Officials are urging drivers to obey posted speed limits, especially on rural roads with sharp curves.
You can learn more about the Boone County Transportation Plan here.
