‘We support each other’: Eaton rallies after 3 recent graduates die in crash

EATON, Colo. — Less than 24 hours after a single-vehicle rollover crash near Eaton killed three young men and injured two others, the community is rallying around one another."Today is a challenging day, kind of struggling a little bit, but we're doing what we can for the community," Eaton School District Superintendent Todd Cordrey said.Shortly after hearing about Saturday's crash that killed three recent Eaton High School graduates, Cordrey said he and his team got to work to support the community."We immediately went to work, frantic texting, calling, trying to collect information, meeting with our community partners," Cordrey explained. "Make sure that we have appropriate information and accurate information to send out to the community, and we did that for about five or six hours yesterday afternoon into the evening."The victims who died at the scene were a 19-year-old and a 20-year-old from Eaton and a 19-year-old from Greeley. The 20-year-old driver, who is from Wyoming, was airlifted to a hospital with critical injuries, while a 19-year-old passenger from Eaton suffered minor injuries.Around mid-morning Sunday, the doors were opened at Eaton High School so students, families, faculty and staff could have a place to go, either to grieve with each other or grieve with the help of a crisis counselor.While what happened near the Weld County town of about 6,000 Saturday is a tragedy, the community coming together was not surprising for Cordrey."I think it's pretty amazing and terrific, but it's not surprising for this community," Cordrey told Denver7's Tyler Melito. "This is an extremely tight-knit community. This is an incredibly unique community. In many ways, it has a feel like Mayberry. We all know each other. We all love each other. We support each other. We're very tight-knit."With a new school year just a few weeks away, Cordrey told Melito they are doing everything they can to ensure the Eaton Schools family feels comfortable."We're first of all going to make sure that we do a professional job to make sure that we get school started appropriately, so that we do our very best to continue with our academic excellence, academic support," Cordrey outlined. "We'll bring in crisis counselors. Our counselors will be ready. We'll set up special times for students to meet."But handling grief doesn't just start and end at school.Angela Narayan, an associate professor of child psychology at the University of Denver, says every kid is different. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to dealing with grief, there is an approach that often works best."When it comes to talking to children about difficult topics, I actually like to use the acronym hash, H-A-S-H," Narayan explained. "You want it to be honest, age-appropriate, specific, and helpful."Narayan added that while dealing with a tragedy like this may be challenging, it is important not to deviate from the norm."Some kids might need a lot of processing, a lot of talking, a lot of hugs, a lot of support," Naryan said. "Others might just need quiet, calm, same activities, same routines. In tragedies, in crises, in really difficult times, the best thing for kids is support and predictable routines to continue."She also stressed the important role parents, teachers, coaches and any adult role model can play in the grief process and how that adult's attitude can be crucial to how the child copes with tragedy."Adults and parents need to prioritize their own mental health and their self-care," Naryan said. "Often, how kids do after these tragic events really depends on how the adults and parents do around them. If a parent is having a really hard time, the kid's going to pick up on that, and the kid's going to have a harder time adjusting."Cordrey says getting through this nightmare as a community is exactly the message he is giving to families."We're here to support each other, console each other, grieve together, grow together," Cordrey said.The cause of the crash remains under investigation. CSP said it is looking at all potential contributing factors. The Weld County coroner will release the identities of those killed.