Maple River High mourns deaths of 2 students

A south-central Minnesota community and school are dealing with grief and shock in the wake of a head-on collision Monday that killed two high school students in Blue Earth County.

At about 3:40 p.m. Monday, a southbound Ford station wagon driven by Troy Schultz, 16, of Mapleton, crossed the center line on Hwy. 22 north of Mapleton and went into the northbound lane, said State Patrol spokesman Capt. Matt Langer. It slammed into a Honda PC driven by Julia Tran Lam, 18, who was headed to her Mankato home.

Tran Lam died at the scene, and Schultz was pronounced dead at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, Minn. Both were alone in their vehicles.

Students at Maple River High School, in Mapleton, were in mourning Tuesday.

"The halls are usually noisy and robust, and you can hear a pin drop," Maple River Schools Superintendent Willis Schoeb said Tuesday. "When the students came in this morning, they were in shock."

Tran Lam, a senior, was active in cross country and track and was an honors student. Schultz, a junior, had been a wrestler, Schoeb said.

Both were the youngest children in their families and had no siblings in the school system, he said.

"It's tragic anytime you lose someone in motor vehicle crashes, especially two young drivers, and we hope to learn what caused the crash so other people can learn from it," Langer said.

A school assembly was held Tuesday, and counselors were on hand to deal with the deaths. Some students overwhelmed by emotion were allowed to leave school with parental permission, Schoeb said.

Schultz is survived by his parents and two older siblings. His grieving father deferred comments to the family's pastor, the Rev. Betty Johnson.

"Troy was an amazing young man," she said. "The thing I noticed about Troy was that little sparkle in his eye. He loved to have a good time."

He was an avid outdoorsman who loved to hunt, fish and canoe, she said. In 2008, he joined a mission trip in Colorado.

Funeral arrangements were pending Tuesday.