by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — Sometimes all you can do is show your support.

Several Wellington students as well as students across Sumner County showed their support by wearing purple for Braxton Kooser, 14, a freshman at Derby High School, who was killed in a traffic accident last Saturday, which injured three of his friends.

Six Wellington students show their support for the grieving students of Derby by wearing purple at school.

Kooser was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from a 2005 Dodge Durango which rolled multiple times near 87th and Webb Road, according to a spokesperson for the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department the Derby Weekly Informer reported. Deputies responded to the accident following a 12:14 a.m. cell phone report.

The SUV was driven by Caleb Sheldon, 14, of Derby. As it traveled at a high rate of speed westbound on 87th, just west of Webb, Sheldon lost control of the vehicle and it went off the north side of the roadway and rolled. 

Kooser was found in tall grass near the area of the accident. He died at the scene.

The three others in the vehicle were transported by Sedgwick County EMS to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita. Sheldon was released from the hospital on Sunday and Alex Helt, 15, of Derby, was treated and released on Saturday morning.

Kaleb Kelley, 15, of Derby, was critically injured and sustained a skull fracture and shoulder injuries. Kelley was released from the hospital Monday, after making rapid recovery Sunday and Monday, according to his mother, Amy Kelley. The shoulder injury is believed to be soft tissue damage from his seat belt, she said, and his head injury is now stable.

A sheriff’s spokesperson said the teens had taken another friend home and were headed back to Derby. No evidence of alcohol was found at the scene, he said.

“Speed appears to be the full factor,” he said.

No citations or charges have been issued in connection with the accident. It remains under investigation and will be turned over to the district attorney for review, if the investigation  findings warrant it, the spokesperson said.

Kooser’s funeral has been set for 10 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30, at the First Christian Church Powerhouse in Derby.