Two seniors at a tech school in northeastern Connecticut died and a third teen was injured in a fiery crash in Brooklyn early Monday.
Both Brenna Ann Larson, 17, of the North Grosvenordale section of Thompson, and Shawna Wojinowski, 17, of Plainfield, were in the automotive program at Harvard H. Ellis Technical High School, friends and relatives said.
Their friend, Ashley Adamo, also 17, from Quassett Road in the Pomfret Center section of Pomfret, suffered what state police said appeared to be serious injuries. She burned her hands but managed to get out of the flaming wreck, they said.
State police said troopers received a report of the crash about 12:10 a.m. Monday. The teens were in a 2002 Ford F-150 heading north on North Society Road, north of Creasey Road, when the truck went off the road on a curve, struck a guardrail and went into a ditch, where it caught fire. Wojnowski and Larson were pronounced dead at the scene, state police said in a preliminary report.
The report doesn’t state who was driving the truck. It lists the owner as David Adamo of Quassett Road in Pomfret Center.
State police said the crash remains under investigation.
It was the second time in six days a 17-year-old was behind the wheel in a crash with multiple deaths. On Oct. 9, a 17-year-old driver traveled the wrong way on I-95 in North Stonington, killing herself and a couple in an oncoming car, state police said.
Shawna Wojinowski’s half-brother, Dakota Cicarelli, 18, said he heard his sister was just hanging out with friends before the crash.
Wojinowski lived with his family a few years ago and he used to drive her to school every day. He described her as charismatic.
“Her smile was absolutely radiating. Gorgeous smile. She made everyone around her so much happier,” he said.
She wasn’t faint of heart, though. Growing up with four brothers and half-brothers made her “tough as nails,” Cicarelli said.
Brenna Larson loved animals and volunteered on a local farm, said Veronica Ziemba, a family spokeswoman. She also did volunteer work with mentally and physically disabled people, she said.
“She had a heart of gold. She is just a lovable person. She has always got a smile, and a ton of friends,” Ziemba said. “Beautiful woman inside and out.”
Larson’s mother, Charlotte Fisk, said her daughter was “my heart and my soul. I’m lost without her.”
Cicarelli is struggling with Wojinowski’s death, too. He said he never got to tell his sister how much he loved her.
“Now she’s gone,” he said.
Christine Dempsey can be reached at cdempsey@courant.com.
