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Sarasota Teen Dies Of Injuries From High School Party Brawl

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Friends describe Gregory Kennedy as funny and adventurous.

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Sarasota-Herald Tribune

Published: July 31, 2008

Updated: 07/31/2008 04:45 pm

SARASOTA COUNTY - A teenager was killed and at least two others are being investigated in connection with his death after a house party for high school students spilled out of control and erupted into a brawl.

Sarasota High School student Gregory Kennedy was beaten early Tuesday -- possibly with a baseball bat, according to early police reports -- and flown to a St. Petersburg trauma unit with a severe head injury. Kennedy, 18, died after he was removed from life support Wednesday morning.

Friends say the confrontation was fueled in part by alcohol and a long-held animosity between current and former students from Sarasota and Riverview high schools.

"There has always been a rivalry," said Gina Valdez, a Sarasota High graduate and close friend of Kennedy. "But it's never blown up into something like this."

Many details remain unclear, but what emerged from interviews with deputies, family members and friends is a picture of a violent clash during a party.

At a house in the 3500 block of Lalani Boulevard, homeowner Max Herrera threw a birthday party for his son, Robert. Kennedy and dozens of other friends at Sarasota High were there.

At some point, several teenagers from Riverview High School arrived and had words with Robert Herrera.

Some of the teenagers went outside and scuffled.

It is not known whether Kennedy was involved in the initial fight, but friends say the Riverview teenagers left.

Kennedy, friends say, drank alcohol and fell asleep on a couch. "He was drinking," said a longtime friend, Wade Risha. "And when this whole fight started, he could barely stand."

Some time later, a group of sport utility vehicles showed up on Lalani Boulevard. Kennedy was still asleep on the couch. In the SUVs, witnesses say, were some of the students from the original confrontation.

At least one person had a baseball bat or a pipe.

Someone smashed a window at the home, waking up Kennedy. He and others went outside.

Neighbors and deputies say at least two dozen teenagers fought in the yard and the street. Someone called 911 and the group scattered, leaving Kennedy on the ground, bleeding and unconscious.

When authorities got there, they did CPR on Kennedy and briefly revived him. He was flown to Bayfront Medical Center and placed on life support.

Wednesday morning, his mother had doctors remove Kennedy from life support.

Laura Kennedy said her son was "in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Friends describe Kennedy as funny and adventurous, an avid golfer, surfer and wrestler. Kennedy would have been a senior at Sarasota High, where school is set to resume in three weeks after summer vacation.

Family members are planning a vigil for Kennedy on Friday at Phillippi Shores Elementary School.

"He was a wonderful boy," Laura Kennedy said. "I still don't understand how this happened."

Investigators have not arrested anyone in connection with the death. Sources say at least two students, both from Riverview High School, are suspects.

Detectives are also investigating whether Max Herrera served alcohol to the students.

Extra Counselors Planned

The school district plans to have extra guidance counselors available at Riverview and Sarasota high schools when classes resume in August.

School officials said they do not think the incident was indicative of a larger problem of a rivalry between the two high schools. The schools have always had an athletic rivalry between them, but nothing that ever became violent. Instances of graffiti and other issues have actually become less of a problem in the past few years, they said.

Still, district spokesman Scott Ferguson added that administrators and staff will be talking to students and monitoring the situation to see if they need to address a larger problem.

"They will certainly talk about this with staff members and make sure they are aware if there are any feelings of rivalry out there," Ferguson said. "Even though we don't see this as a trend, we will certainly take this as a reason to look more closely at the situation and make sure students understand the severity of it."

Sheriff's officials say there were signs of alcohol use among the teenage partygoers.

Some had alcohol smell on their breath, sheriff's spokesman Lt. Chuck Lesaltato said this afternoon. Neighbors say that there were beer cans outside the home.

"You could tell that some of the kids had been drinking," he said.

'Everybody Loved Him'

Greg Kennedy had a large group of friends from many different social circles. Those closest to him could not think of a single enemy.

His friends and relatives say he was a gregarious and outgoing young man, but still blushed at compliments from girls or adults who supervised him.

"It's hard to imagine that this could happen to him," said his cousin Diana Pugh. "Pretty much everybody loved him."

Kennedy, 18, loved sports, country music and documentary movies.

Those closest to him said he was not a fighter, but would have his friends' backs when they ran into trouble. They thought the athletic and strong-willed teen could protect himself in a dangerous situation.

Friends and family members were paying him tribute this morning, posting messages on a special MySpace memorial page.

"every day i pass by our school i will think of you," one friend Alex Seger wrote. "your in my heart always and forever."

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