Community mourns high school senior who died 4 days before graduation
STILESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — Cyle Sullivan, 18, a senior at Cascade High School, would have walked in graduation on Friday.
Then, tragedy hit.
Police say just after 4:20 a.m. Monday that Sullivan’s silver Ford Taurus car crashed into a utility pole near County Road 550 West north of the town of Stilesville. He was traveling north when his car drove off the road in the rural area.
On Tuesday, balloons, flowers, and a flag were wrapped around a new utility pole in a makeshift memorial.
Gloria Kelly’s daughter used to go to school with Sullivan. She said Tuesday that they are still coping with Sullivan’s death. Kelly said, “I don’t know why these things happen, but it’s difficult especially this time of year when this fella had his whole life ahead of him.”
At the crash site, a 6-foot drop goes from the road to a ditch. Pieces of debris and some glass, possibly from the vehicle, were in the ditch Tuesday.
“That angel is gone but he’s somewhere else. That was his lot. That’s what I told my daughter,” Kelly said.
Sullivan was a varsity football player and a wrestler. The school superintendent issued a statement.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Cyle Sullivan. We are saddened by this sudden and tragic loss of one of our Cadets.
“School counselors are available for students and staff for grief counseling.”
Superintendent Jim Diagostino of Mill Creek Community Schools
Another senior from the same class at Cascade died in a car crash at the beginning of the school year. Ryan Bell, 17, of Plainfield, played football and was a wrestler at the high school, according to social media posts. Drugs and alcohol were not suspected as contributing factors in Bell’s crash.
The Hendricks County Sheriff’s Office says alcohol has not been ruled out in Sullivan’s death, and the toxicology report was pending Tuesday.