Car crash kills grad on way to ceremony

By Nick Perry
Seattle Times staff reporter

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Brad Lybbert was less than a mile from his graduation ceremony at the Tacoma Dome yesterday morning when he lost control of his car and died in an accident.

"It's very sad. You have all these seniors that are beginning their life and one whose life just ended," said South Kitsap High School Principal David Colombini, who also was en route to the ceremony when he came upon the crash scene. "He was just a good, great kid."

Lybbert, 18, of Port Orchard, was an honor student at South Kitsap with a "terrific GPA" who ran track and cross-country for his school team, Colombini said. Lybbert was very popular among a core group of runners at the school.

He began yesterday full of anticipation, said his mother, Melodie Lybbert.

"He laid his graduation gown out on the couch this morning before he left. He put his cap there, too," she said last night.

Two of Brad's graduating friends, whom he knew through church, arrived and laid their outfits next to his for fun, she said. "They went out to the car laughing and giggling and having a good time. He was excited."

According to witnesses, Lybbert and his two passengers were driving northbound on Interstate 5 when Lybbert lost control while attempting to exit at the Interstate 705 interchange. The car, a 1991 Ford Escort, was traveling about 70 miles an hour on wet pavement. It spun 180 degrees and slammed into a metal guardrail, witnesses said.

The two female passengers, ages 17 and 18, suffered minor injuries and were released from St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma later in the morning. All three were wearing seat belts, the State Patrol said.

Trooper Elliott George said speed and driving inexperience may have contributed to the accident, but there was no suspicion that drugs or alcohol were involved.

Colombini arrived at the accident scene about 8:50 a.m., just before emergency workers showed up. He said he recognized three other teachers and some students from the school who also had stopped to help. One of the staff members had taught English to Lybbert.
 
"Things there were pretty chaotic," Colombini said. "We knew it was very serious, but we didn't know how serious."

Firefighters used the Jaws of Life to free Lybbert, Colombini said. The principal continued on to the Tacoma Dome when law-enforcement officers asked bystanders to leave. Lybbert died after being taken to St. Joseph.

Colombini said that during the ceremony, he was pulled aside by a trooper who told him Lybbert had died. Not knowing whether Lybbert's family also had been told, Colombini said he decided to continue without making an announcement.

Melodie Lybbert said Brad was the youngest of 10 siblings. As well as running, he loved to draw. But the most important thing in his life was his involvement with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

She said her son was organizing a canoe trip with church friends this summer and planning to do some counseling at the church. He hoped to start a job with a roofing company in Spokane later in the summer, she said.

"He was filled with love for everybody," Melodie Lybbert said. "He was a special young man."

Nick Perry: 206-515-5639 or nperry@seattletimes.com