A Florida high school senior described as a \u201csweetheart\u201d and a \u201cfriend to everyone\u201d was killed in a car crash \u2013 hours before he was set to receive his diploma.<\/p>\n
Christopher Brooks, 18, was heading to his graduation practice at South Fork High in Stuart, Fla. on Thursday morning when he smashed straight into the back of a dump truck, Martin County Cops said, <\/a>according to WPTV.<\/p>\n \u201cHe drove straight into the back of the dump truck without apparently hitting the brakes and was dead on impact,\u201d Sheriff John Budensiek told reporters.<\/p>\n Florida student Christopher Brooks was killed in a car crash on Thursday. WPEC<\/p>\n Cops suspect Brooks, a member of the school\u2019s veterinary program, was distracted, but they have not yet identified what the distraction was.<\/p>\n Officers are unsure if he was wearing a seatbelt \u2013 but Budensiek said this wouldn\u2019t have mattered due to the nature of the crash.<\/p>\n Brooks\u2019 devastated pals saw plumes of smoke coming from his 2007 Honda Accord and charged over to the scene.<\/p>\n \u201cThey ran up and saw what no one should see,\u201d Budensiek said. \u201cAnd they\u2019re so traumatized. <\/p>\n \u201cThese are the worst cases for us in law enforcement and fire [and] rescue to respond to because it could be anybody\u2019s family member.\u201d<\/p>\n Tributes were paid to Brooks, who was described as a \u2018sweetheart.\u2019 Martin County School District<\/p>\n Budensiek said the crash \u201chighlights just how fragile life is\u201d before warning drivers not to be distracted behind the wheel.<\/p>\n \u201cThis changes everybody\u2019s life drastically,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Witness Lucia Fourie, who studies at Treasure Coast Classical Academy, said she \u201cfroze\u201d after watching Brooks\u2019 car rear-end the truck, CBS12 reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bernard Blackshire, who was driving a semi truck, tried to rip Brooks\u2019 car door off, but said, \u201cwe couldn\u2019t \u2019cause it was stuck.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe had a subtle movement and then all of a sudden, he stopped. A lady was out here crying, it was just pretty sad,\u201d he told the outlet.<\/p>\n Brooks\u2019 car was loaded onto a tow truck and removed from the scene. WPEC<\/p>\n The dump truck driver wasn\u2019t injured, cops confirmed. A semi-truck driver at the scene was also unharmed.<\/p>\n South Fork\u2019s graduation ceremony still went ahead, but there was a chair draped in a black and red gown \u2013 a nod to the school\u2019s colors.\u00a0 His seat was also decorated with a graduate\u2019s cap and a bouquet.<\/p>\n Officials leave a seat empty in line with a school tradition, honoring students no longer here, WFLX-TV reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Brooks, who was also on the school\u2019s bowling team, was honored when students moved their tassels on their caps, Treasure Coast Newspapers reported.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAs we prepare to turn our tassels, we remember our dear friend Christopher Brooks,\u201d one student said.<\/p>\n The student then moved the tassel on the cap Brooks would\u2019ve worn at the ceremony.<\/p>\n Tributes were paid to Brooks \u2014 with Savannah Morris describing him as a \u201csweetheart.\u201d<\/p>\n