One year later, family and friends remember Derek, Michael & Andrea

It was one year ago that a single-vehicle crash south of Maple Lake took the lives of three friends, leaving behind grieving families and friends and a community stunned by the loss of so many young people in the blink of an eye.

Four friends and former students of Maple Lake High School were involved in the single-vehicle crash on the evening of October 27, 2008, that killed Derek Kammerer, 22, of Maple Lake; his girlfriend, Andrea Northern, 23, of South Haven; and their friend, Michael DeMars, 22, of Maple Lake. Steve Dooher, 22, of Waverly, survived the crash.

The quartet of friends was traveling south on Cty. Rd. 7 on the evening of October 27 in a 1984 Corvette that had been recently purchased by Dooher. According to the Wright County Sheriff’s Department, the car failed to stop at the Cty. Rd. 35 stop sign, left the roadway just south of the stop sign and crashed into a steep ditch.

Although the crash occurred on the evening of October 27, it was nearly 12 hours later when a passing motorist noticed the vehicle in a deep ditch on the west side of Cty. Rd. 7 and called authorities.

Dooher, who suffered a broken pelvis and a brain injury in the crash, is charged with three felony counts of criminal vehicular homicide, each carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years, $20,000, or both. A pre-trial hearing in the case is set for Nov. 30.

Over the past year, a collection of memorials has grown at the crash site. Crosses with the names of the three friends have been placed at the spot where the car left the road. Down in the ravine where the car came to rest, photos, letters, flowers and other items were placed there by family and friends. And last week, a group of family and friends organized by Andrea’s mother, Shelly Lidster, came to the site once again. Howard Kammerer, Derek’s father, brought a ladder to hang ribbons adorned with each of the three friends’ names on one of the trees struck by the Corvette a year ago. In addition, Shelly brought a bouquet of balloons to mark the October 28 birthday of her daughter.

More information appears in this week’s issue of the Messenger.