Austin Weirup
Austin Weirup
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Age: 16
Location:
East St. Elmo Road at South Congress Avenue
Austin
United States
Austin Weirup was on his way to school when a cement truck took a right turn into him. Charges were never pressed against the truck driver.
***
Austin Chronicle
September 20, 2005
Sixteen-year-old Austin Wierup was killed last Thursday morning on his bicycle near the corner of South Congress and St. Elmo on his way to class at the Griffin School in Hyde Park. A preliminary APD statement says Wierup collided with a cement truck as it turned eastbound on St. Elmo. The truck driver, 33-year-old Sidney Henry, was not given a citation and no charges have been filed at press time. According to witnesses, Wierup was riding on the sidewalk and appeared to strike the front side of the truck, APD spokeswoman Laura Albrecht said. It is unclear whether the truck struck Wierup as he was going through the intersection or if both were turning when they collided. "It is still an open case and still under investigation," Albrecht said. The Griffin School's Adam Wilson said the small, tight-knit school community is grieving over the loss of Wierup, whom he called a gregarious, respected, and popular student. Wierup, a junior, normally arrived at school on his skateboard, having taken the bus from South Austin, Wilson said. "My perception is that he was trying to get to a more central bus stop given the Capital Metro strike." A memorial will be held at the Griffin School Saturday evening and the Yellow Bike Project has placed a symbolic white bicycle at the scene of the accident.
***
At Griffin School, boy gave all cause to smile
Austin Weirup, 16, killed in a collision, will be remembered at memorial service today.
By Joshunda Sanders
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, October 1, 2005
On Sept. 22, when 16-year-old Austin Weirup usually would have waited for the bus to take him to school, Capital Metro service was interrupted because of a labor strike.
His mother, Holly Whittaker, would have taken him, but she was about to go on a camping trip to celebrate her 50th birthday. So Austin put on his headphones, grabbed his bike and kissed his mother goodbye.
At 7:57 a.m., Austin was killed when his bike collided with a cement truck at the intersection of St. Elmo Road and South Congress Avenue. The truck driver was not given a citation, and no charges were filed against him. The accident is still under investigation, police said.
A memorial service for Austin is today.
Three days before Austin's death, he told his best friend: "If there's some accident and I die, don't cry; have a big 'ol party."
His friends and family say that was typical of Austin's outlook on life, and called the incident a tragic ending to a series of unfortunate coincidences.
They remembered Austin as a boy with a big presence and a great sense of humor who often befriended strangers. He was short, with a raspy voice, and he liked to wear Dickies pants and dark T-shirts, math teacher Jane Lozano recalled.
"He lived large. He lived large and fast and happy," she said.
The Griffin School junior was popular and well-loved at the tightknit school of 50 students, said the school's director, Adam Wilson. Austin had a tendency to show up at school on his skateboard, which he would ride from the bus stop, and then give out sweaty hugs to his friends and teachers.
"He was always cracking jokes, and he was a very special kid," Wilson said. "Sometimes he was a mischievous kid or he'd say things that were clearly inappropriate, but he'd do it with a smile and it was hard to get mad at him. We all had a lot of affection for him."
He was Whittaker's youngest son. His mother remembered him as a practical joker who once sewed one of his uncle's pants legs closed and who booby-trapped her house so that pillows would fall on her head when she came in.
"I'm not angry at the truck driver, I'm just sad," she said. "It's such a comfort to know my baby didn't suffer, that he died instantly. He was just riding along, jamming out, and he's gone just like that. He probably didn't even know what hit him."
A memorial for Austin will be at 6 p.m. today at the Griffin School chapel, 4100 Red River St. After the funeral, Whittaker will take his ashes to California, where she'll scatter them in the Pacific Ocean, she said.
"I think the only way to really describe it is heartbreak," said Austin's best friend, Mikaylah Bowman, 15. "I feel like Austin completes me in a lot of ways, and it's hard for that to not physically be with me. He didn't really need anyone to be gone from his life to treat everyone like they were going to die tomorrow, and I'm beginning to live my life the same way. He was my best teacher."
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Age: 16
Location:
East St. Elmo Road at South Congress Avenue
Austin
United States
Austin Weirup was on his way to school when a cement truck took a right turn into him. Charges were never pressed against the truck driver.
***
Austin Chronicle
September 20, 2005
Sixteen-year-old Austin Wierup was killed last Thursday morning on his bicycle near the corner of South Congress and St. Elmo on his way to class at the Griffin School in Hyde Park. A preliminary APD statement says Wierup collided with a cement truck as it turned eastbound on St. Elmo. The truck driver, 33-year-old Sidney Henry, was not given a citation and no charges have been filed at press time. According to witnesses, Wierup was riding on the sidewalk and appeared to strike the front side of the truck, APD spokeswoman Laura Albrecht said. It is unclear whether the truck struck Wierup as he was going through the intersection or if both were turning when they collided. "It is still an open case and still under investigation," Albrecht said. The Griffin School's Adam Wilson said the small, tight-knit school community is grieving over the loss of Wierup, whom he called a gregarious, respected, and popular student. Wierup, a junior, normally arrived at school on his skateboard, having taken the bus from South Austin, Wilson said. "My perception is that he was trying to get to a more central bus stop given the Capital Metro strike." A memorial will be held at the Griffin School Saturday evening and the Yellow Bike Project has placed a symbolic white bicycle at the scene of the accident.
***
At Griffin School, boy gave all cause to smile
Austin Weirup, 16, killed in a collision, will be remembered at memorial service today.
By Joshunda Sanders
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, October 1, 2005
On Sept. 22, when 16-year-old Austin Weirup usually would have waited for the bus to take him to school, Capital Metro service was interrupted because of a labor strike.
His mother, Holly Whittaker, would have taken him, but she was about to go on a camping trip to celebrate her 50th birthday. So Austin put on his headphones, grabbed his bike and kissed his mother goodbye.
At 7:57 a.m., Austin was killed when his bike collided with a cement truck at the intersection of St. Elmo Road and South Congress Avenue. The truck driver was not given a citation, and no charges were filed against him. The accident is still under investigation, police said.
A memorial service for Austin is today.
Three days before Austin's death, he told his best friend: "If there's some accident and I die, don't cry; have a big 'ol party."
His friends and family say that was typical of Austin's outlook on life, and called the incident a tragic ending to a series of unfortunate coincidences.
They remembered Austin as a boy with a big presence and a great sense of humor who often befriended strangers. He was short, with a raspy voice, and he liked to wear Dickies pants and dark T-shirts, math teacher Jane Lozano recalled.
"He lived large. He lived large and fast and happy," she said.
The Griffin School junior was popular and well-loved at the tightknit school of 50 students, said the school's director, Adam Wilson. Austin had a tendency to show up at school on his skateboard, which he would ride from the bus stop, and then give out sweaty hugs to his friends and teachers.
"He was always cracking jokes, and he was a very special kid," Wilson said. "Sometimes he was a mischievous kid or he'd say things that were clearly inappropriate, but he'd do it with a smile and it was hard to get mad at him. We all had a lot of affection for him."
He was Whittaker's youngest son. His mother remembered him as a practical joker who once sewed one of his uncle's pants legs closed and who booby-trapped her house so that pillows would fall on her head when she came in.
"I'm not angry at the truck driver, I'm just sad," she said. "It's such a comfort to know my baby didn't suffer, that he died instantly. He was just riding along, jamming out, and he's gone just like that. He probably didn't even know what hit him."
A memorial for Austin will be at 6 p.m. today at the Griffin School chapel, 4100 Red River St. After the funeral, Whittaker will take his ashes to California, where she'll scatter them in the Pacific Ocean, she said.
"I think the only way to really describe it is heartbreak," said Austin's best friend, Mikaylah Bowman, 15. "I feel like Austin completes me in a lot of ways, and it's hard for that to not physically be with me. He didn't really need anyone to be gone from his life to treat everyone like they were going to die tomorrow, and I'm beginning to live my life the same way. He was my best teacher."