ROCKLAND, Maine — A memorial service has been scheduled for Dec. 17 for a 16-year-old Rockland girl killed in a car crash Saturday night after the driver, who also died, had tried to elude police.
A GoFundMe account has been established to help the family pay for funeral expenses for Kara Brewer. As of Wednesday morning, $1,294 had been raised toward the goal of $15,000.
A makeshift memorial has been set up with wreaths, flowers, a card and some letters, all addressed to Brewer, placed around a tree that the car crashed into off Wotton’s Mill Road in Union.
“As painful as it is to stop by here, we decided to come and pay our respects and say our goodbye to you,” stated one letter. “It’s hard to get it through my head that you’re gone, but I know it will be alright. We love you.”
Brewer was a passenger in the 2001 Subaru station wagon that crashed after the driver, Caleb Byras, 17, of Litchfield, failed to stop when Rockport police officer Craig Cooley tried to pull him over for speeding on Route 17 shortly before midnight, according to Knox County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Tim Carroll.
Carroll said that Cooley chased the car until it made a left turn onto Wotton’s Mill Road and sped off, then the officer notified the Knox County Regional Communications Center in Rockland that he was ending the pursuit.
The officer nevertheless continued down the road and came upon the wreckage less than 2 miles later. The Subaru had gone off the roadway and crashed into a tree with such force that the car split into two pieces. Byras and Brewer were killed instantly, according to police.
Another teenager who was in the back seat survived and was released from the hospital on Sunday after being treated for minor injuries. Police have not identified the 17-year-old survivor because she is a minor.
An investigation into the crash by the Knox County Sheriff’s Office and Maine State Police continues. Chief Deputy Carroll said there was no indication that alcohol played a role in the crash but that a blood test was being performed on the driver as is the policy in fatal crashes.
An hour before the 11:43 p.m. crash, Byras had been stopped on Route 17 and given a ticket for speeding by Cooley. Police said Byras was alone when he was issued the speeding ticket and had been heading toward Rockland, where he apparently picked up his two passengers.
Brewer, the daughter of Danielle Benner of Rockland and Shawn Brewer of Waldoboro, was born Sept. 24, 1999, according to an obituary on the Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home website. She was educated in Waldoboro schools, attending both Miller Elementary School and Medomak Middle School.
“She was a vivacious girl who loved anything to do with fashion and beauty,” the obituary states. “She had a knack for making the world around her more beautiful by creating stunning hairstyles and applying makeup to anyone who would let her. She was looking forward to achieving her goal of becoming a cosmetologist.”
Family and friends are invited to visit from 10 to 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 17, at Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock St., Rockland, where a celebration of her life will be held at 11 a.m.
Byras was a senior at Oak Hill High School in Wales.
Oak Hill High School Principal Patricia Doyle said Monday that an assembly was held for seniors at the start of school that day to inform them of the crash and the death of Byras. She said most of the students were already aware due to social media and news reports.
The high school also made counselors available for students in the district.
“It’s been pretty solemn here. The students and faculty have been affected,” she said.
A GoFundMe site also has been established to help his family pay for funeral expenses. The site seeks $5,000 and had raised $415 by around noon Wednesday.
According to his obituary on the website of the Finley Funeral Home, Byras was born in Augusta on May 17, 1998, the son of Matthew Byras of Litchfield and Maria Hobbs of Hallowell. He attended schools in Litchfield before going to Oak Hill in Wales.
“He enjoyed hunting, ice fishing and building things and loved his cat, Spunk; and dog, Brindle,” according to the obituary. It said he also volunteered to help the Farmers Club at the Litchfield Fair.
Attempts to contact friends and family members of the two teens this week have been unsuccessful.