GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A Gwinnett County high school is mourning the loss of a 17-year-old student who died in a crash just minutes from campus.
Police say Shan Ramcharan lost control of his car while coming down a curve on Moore Road in Suwanee.
His car crashed into Rod and Athena Foster’s front yard.
“It was horrible,” Athena Foster said.
The Fosters say they watch cars speed along that part of the road every day.
“As you come out of that curve there, there's a nice little straightaway and they all want to test it out,” Rod Foster said.
The crash that killed Ramcharan happened around 2:30 p.m. Thursday, just as North Gwinnett High School was letting out a half mile away.
“You could hear the roar of the engine, vroom, tires screeching then boom,” Rod Foster said.
The Fosters say they called 911 and then ran to pull the teen from his car.
“We tried our best, but he was not responding,” Athena Foster said.
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Police say Ramcharan may have been speeding and lost control around the curve on Belle Estates Road.
His car entered the path of the silver truck heading east.
He died Thursday night at a local hospital.
“It was horrific. I will never forget his face. He's only 17 years old,” Athena Foster said.
Ramcharan was a member of the JROTC and Police Explorers at North Gwinnett.
Friday, friends spent the day adding flowers and candles to a memorial at the crash scene.
“He was probably one of the nicest kids we’ll ever know,” friend Franklin Auer said.
The driver of the other car had non-life-threatening injuries.
Neighbors say they are working to prevent another death from happening there,
“Something to help deter these kids from speeding down the street like this because ultimately we want to save lives,” Rod Foster said.
He says they’ve lost four mailboxes in two years because people keep crashing into them.
The Fosters showed Channel 2’s Matt Johnson the letter the county sent them in 2015 after they asked for a traffic monitor on Moore Road. It said the county’s evaluation showed no reason to recommend changes.
“I hope it’s a wake-up call for our officials to be like, ‘Hey, we need a stop sign out there or some speed bumps,’” Rod Foster said.
Ramcharan's family has created a GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses.
Cox Media Group
