PORTSMOUTH, New Hampshire — Students returned to the high school Thursday, one day after learning a classmate was killed during a snow-tubing accident and another was seriously injured.
Senior David Kohlhase Jr., 18, died early Wednesday morning from injuries suffered during the accident at Sunday River in Maine. A friend and classmate, 17, was injured. Both teens are from Rye.
Grief counselors were available for Portsmouth High School students who wanted it on Thursday and one parent said some students wore black to school to mourn their lost friend.
Police Chief Robert Merner said his department heard from parents Wednesday night they were “very concerned” news crews would invade the privacy of grieving students returning to school after hearing the tragic news. Merner said in response to those concerns, all three school resource officers were assigned to cover the high school Thursday, at the beginning and end of the day. Merner said he also sent uniformed officers, noting the students have “enough trauma.”
The police chief said there were television crews in the area of the high school, but they were not allowed on school grounds and were prohibited from filming students. He said the extra precautions paid off because there were no problems.
No memorial or funeral plans were immediately available Thursday.
PHS Principal Mary Lyons said Wednesday that students should know, “It is important to let someone you trust know how you feel.” She said a school crisis team was assembled to provide counseling and support to students and those who need additional support should contact their school counselor.
In a press release, the Oxford County Sheriff’s office said the “tragic snow sledding accident” occurred at 1:57 a.m. Jan. 17. Chief Deputy Hart Daley said the accident happened on the Tempest Trail at the Sunday River resort in Newry, Maine.
Darcey Lambert, Sunday River’s director of communications, said the teens were staying at a Sunday River condominium and “presumably” walked up the mountain because it was closed at the time, before the tubing accident.
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