Kaneland mourns deaths of two well-liked seniors

Tears were shed throughout Kaneland High School Thursday after two seniors died in a one-vehicle crash on their way to school.

Police said 17-year-olds Blake Denton and Jeff Malewig, both of Sugar Grove, were headed north on Harter Road in unincorporated Kaneville Township about 9:15 a.m. when Denton's 1995 Pontiac Grand Prix went off the road and hit a tree. Denton was flown to Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, where he died a short time later. Malewig died at the scene.

Kane County Sheriff's Lt. Pat Gengler said the teens appeared to be driving to Kaneland High near Maple Park, as seniors start class at 9:24 a.m. He said the crash's cause was under investigation.

"We don't have a lot of details at this point," Gengler said Thursday afternoon. "There's no indication alcohol was involved. Both kids were wearing seat belts."

Thursday night, nearly 200 teens attended a prayer vigil at Village Bible Church in Sugar Grove, where they talked about the two boys, prayed for their families and the high school, and could talk to pastors, if needed, about their grief.

"We pray to carry Kaneland High School through this crisis," said Assistant Principal Ian Smith. The Rev. Tim Badal noted the number of accidents over the years in which Kaneland students have been killed: "I know Kaneland has suffered these things far too many times," he told the students.

Senior Ben Brown, who has been friends with Blake since the third grade, said afterward that on Wednesday he and Blake went snow-skating after school. That night, Blake came over to his house to help him with a physics project that involved building a musical instrument, looking up equations and cutting PVC pipe. Blake was a student assistant in the physics class.

"He was a great kid. I can't tell you of one kid who did not like him," Brown said, noting that Blake liked to play chess and pickup football games.

"He brought a lot of humor to the group," said Mike Nguyen, another senior.

Both Denton and Malewig were active and well-liked students at school, Kaneland School District 302 Superintendent Charles McCormick said.

Malewig was a hardworking starting second baseman for the varsity baseball team, said coach Brian Aversa.

"Jeff did every single thing I asked him to do," Aversa said, and just last week he asked the coach for extra practice fielding ground balls. And "he always had a witty remark."

McCormick said he could hear many of the teens' classmates sobbing as they learned of the crash in a morning announcement, and grief counseling was made available immediately to students and the staff.

"They were kids that people knew," McCormick said of the victims. "These are kids who had meaningful relationships with adults and with other students here."

Others mourned at the sheriff's office, where several employees are parents of the victims' classmates, Gengler said. Sugar Grove Village President Sean Michels said that in his community, "everybody's heartbroken."

"It's a sad day for the village," Michels said.

Kaneland School District 302 serves students in a mostly rural, 142-square-mile area that stretches from Montgomery north to Maple Park. McCormick estimated that 90 percent of those eligible drive to class each day.

Thursday's crash happened just north of Lorang Road on a slight curve in the two-lane roadway. Sugar Grove investigative officer John Sizer, who is assisting in the investigation, said road conditions did not appear to be a factor.

"The pavement was clear," he said.

• Daily Herald staff writer Nancy Gier contributed to this story.