![[Adamchick Photo]](Adamchick_MW1.JPG)
Adamchick Mark W. (1988 - 2005)
Accident victim
Mark W. Adamchick, 16, of Derringer Street, Weston, passed away Sunday morning, Feb. 6, 2005, from injuries sustained in an automobile accident near McAdoo.
Born in Berwick on Sept. 13, 1988, he was the son of James J. and Donna (Yannes) Adamchick, Weston, and spent his entire life in Weston.
Mark was a member of Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, Weston, where he served as an altar server.
He was a 10th grade student at Hazleton Area High School, where he played on the football team and was a member of the school spirit club, ski club and the Future Business Leaders of America. He was also a member of the Shenandoah Fish and Game Club and enjoyed hunting, fishing, snowboarding, skiing and football.
Preceding him in death were his paternal grandfather, Michael Adamchick, and uncles, Stephen and Mark Adamchick.
Surviving in addition to his parents are his sister, Jennifer Lee Adamchick, at home; his paternal grandmother, Dorothy (Palushock) Adamchick, Weston; maternal grandparents, James and Kathryn (Kuczynski) Yannes, RR #3, Bloomsburg; and several aunts, uncles and cousins.
His funeral will be held Thursday at 9:30 a.m. from the Mark S. Harman Funeral Homes Inc. (East), 669 West Butler Drive, Drums, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m. in Sacred Heart R.C. Church, Weston.
Burial will be in the parish cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home Wednesday from 5 to 9 p.m. A Christian Wake Service will be held Wednesday at 8 p.m. Memorial donations to the Hazleton Area Quarterback Club, PO Box 122, Hazleton, Pa. 18201, would be appreciated by the family. Condolences may be e-mailed from the Web site, www.harmanfuneral.com.
Source: Hazleton Standard Speaker, February 8, 2005.
Adamchick Mark W. (1989 - 2005)
Accident victim, sophmore
Weston teenager dies in accident:
Four taken to hospitals after Tresckow Road crash
By Shawn M. Kelly
A 16-year-old HazIeton Area High School sophomore was killed in a violent one-car crash Sunday morning near Tresckow.
Mark W. Adamchick, of Derringer Street, Weston, was pronounced dead at the McAdoo-Tresckow Road scene by Carbon County Deputy Coroner Philip J. Jeffries.
The 5:40 a.m. accident also sent two 16-year-old McAdoo boys to Lehigh Valley Hospital via helicopter. Two 15-year-old, one from Hazleton and one from Drums, were taken to Hazleton General Hospital, where one was treated and released.
None of the young men was wearing a seatbelt, police said.
All were members of the HazIeton Area High School Cougar football team.
Grief counselors will arrive at the high school this morning to help students and faculty make sense of the accident.
"These are absolutely the worst days when you see kids suffering," said HazIeton Area School District Superintendent Frank Victor. "The entire school will be grieving. We will be prepared to deal with the situation.
"This will definitely be a major setback for the school community, as it is whenever a student is taken away," Victor added. "It's just so difficult for (other students) to comprehend what's taken place."
State police did not identify the other young men involved in the accident.
Trooper Michael J. Borosh, the investigating officer, said a 16-year-old male from McAdoo was driving a gray 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix sedan on the McAdoo-Tresckow Road from McAdoo to Tresckow at about 5:40 a.m.
The car was heading east about a half-mile from Tresckow when it entered a sharp right-hand curve. Police said the car failed to negotiate the curve , then skidded about 150 feet, crossing the centerline of the road. The Pontiac then skidded back across the road and through me eastbound lane, Ieaving the paved surface and travelling onto the berm for 63 additional feet.
The Grand Prix apparently left the berm, possibly becoming airborne according to reports from the scene.
After travelling another 108 feet, the rear of the driver's side hit a tree. The impact spun the car counter-clockwise 15 feet, and the car came to a stop about 36 feet from the road, police said.
The road was closed for several hours after the accident as the Troop N Hazleton Forensic Services Unit and the Troop N Swiftwater Accident Reconstruction Unit conducted an investigation. Troopers carefully marked the scene, noting skid marks and measuring features on the road. Their work will be used to determine the speed of the car as it entered the curve.
The driver and the rear middle seat passenger were flown to hospitals for treatment of what police termed "moderate injuries."
The front passenger and passenger behind the driver's seat were taken to Hazleton General Hospital.
Adamchick was seated behind the front passenger.
The students may have gone to say goodbye to the HAHS cheerleaders, who traveled to a competition out of town Sunday, school Principal Robert Stefanovich said.
"That fits with these kids because these were good kids," Stefanovich said. "I know our students are very proud not only of our athletic teams but also our cheerleading squad. They support each other."
Cougar football Coach Rocco Petrone said Sunday that Adamchick, while only a sophomore, made an impact on the team, both on and off the field.
"He's just a great kid. He was very popular among his friends, not only among the team, but among the school," Petrone said. "Mark was the type of kid that had a great sense of humor. He was the type of kid that everybody - sophomores, juniors and seniors - that people liked to be around.
"There's no doubt his loss will be felt throughout the team and throughout the school," the coach added.
The other players involved in the accident, Petrone said, "are all very good kids. They all come from very good families."
Victor noted, "The football team is so close. This will just devastate them. This will absolutely devastate them."
Word of the accident began spreading through the HASD community Sunday morning.
"You get a call there's been an accident, your blood turns to ice," Stefanovich said, noting he received a call at 9 a.m. "It's probably the biggest fear any school administrator has."
"We got a call this morning around 8 a.m.," Petrone said. "My heart was broken. My heart goes out to his family. It's a tragedy"
Guidance counselors and specialists from the district, Serento Gardens and Northeast Counseling Services will remain at the high school as long as they're needed, Victor said.
District officials may also again stress to students the importance of wearing seatbelts. The fact that none of the teens were belted during the accident surprised them.
"I think most kids today have been brought up today to put seatbelts on," Stefanovich said. "A lot of parents today are making sure that kids... are buckling up."
In the meantime, the educators will help Adamchick's friends, teammates and faculty members cope.
"Hopefully, they're going to remember the good times they had with Mark," Petrone said.
The Mark S. Harman Funeral Homes Inc. (East), 669 W. Butler Drive, Drums, has charge of the arrangements, which were incomplete as of press time Sunday.
Source: Hazleton Standard-Speaker, February 7, 2005.