In an email to parents Thursday morning, principal Lisa Gruman announced that senior Will Ensley died from injuries sustained in a car accident on July 26.
Ensley, a varsity swimmer and dedicated member of the community, was rushed to the hospital on Wednesday morning after a wreck on Metcalf Ave. and West 115th St. at 6:45 a.m. The nine-car collision resulted in the shutdown of Metcalf Ave. south of College Boulevard for hours.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation, according to media reports.
“Death is always difficult to handle, but especially when someone is so young,” Gruman wrote. “It will be important to recognize that all of us will need time to process what has happened, and to express our feelings.”
Students may visit the main office from 7:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., no appointment needed if they wish to talk to a social worker or counselor. If they need to talk to someone outside of those hours, Gruman encouraged them to use the 988 National Hotline to manage mental health and crisis situations.
Faculty wishing to seek counseling or parents in need of a guide to communicate to their adolescents about death can click on the following links, where resources are available 24/7.
![Junior Venti Neaderhiser and senior Dylan Paflas work on their robot March 21 in Room C. The robotics team worked on their robot, Fred, to prepare for the FRC Worlds competition. “I was working with the bumpers on our robot that protect [the] frame [for] when we hit or bump into something,” Neaderhiseri said. “We have put a lot of work into building and coding the robot and have run into many difficulties but we have overcome every issue.” photo by Jack Pischke](https://smnw.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/JPischkeRoboticsteam-7-1-1200x795.jpg)
