Crime & Safety

Friends, Family Gather to Grieve South Windsor Accident Victims

Brooke Wormstedt remembered as a warm, funny girl, while Matthew Masse described as "sweet."

This story was written and reported by Patch Editor Ted Glanzer

People continued to gather at the South Windsor-East Windsor town line on Abbe Road on Monday afternoon to remember the lives of Brooke Wormstedt and Matthew Masse.

Wormstedt, 15, of East Windsor, and Masse, 18, of Vernon, both died Saturday evening in a car accident that injured three other teenagers.
East Windsor resident Michael Resto, who was at the scene of the accident on Monday with friend Amanda Gallant,  remembered Wormstedt as warm, funny and full of life who liked to hang out with her friends and go for walks with her sister, Amber.

“She was an awesome person,” Resto said. “She was always smiling. There was never a dull moment.”

Gallant, who did not know Wormstedt personally, said that she has twin sisters who attend East Windsor High School, where Wormstedt was a sophomore.

“It makes you think, ‘It could have been [my sisters],'” Gallant said.

South Windsor resident Daryl Arel, a former South Windsor High student who was praying at the scene of the accident on Sunday, said that he is best friends with Masse’s brother, a Marine, and that he met Matthew Masse on several occasions.

“She was a nice girl,” Arel said. “She was sweet. It’s tragic.” 

The Wormstedt’s and Masse’s deaths shocked East Windsor residents who were still grieving over the passing of Nicole Weed, who died in July 2012 and was a member of Wormstedt’s class at the high school.

“It’s devastating,” said Resto, who is an East Windsor High graduate. “I’m at a loss for words.”

“This whole thing hits close to home,” Gallant added.

Over 100 people, including Wormstedt’s parents, gathered at the spot of the accident on Sunday for a candlelight vigil, said Resto, who described an emotional scene in which Wormstedt’s mother found her daughter’s eye glasses that evening.

The base of the tree was covered with signs, cards and flowers from those grieving the losses of Masse and Wormstedt.

For some, it was too much to bear.

“I had a long talk with my [younger] sister after this happened,” Resto said. “Tomorrow is never promised. Don’t take life for granted. Don’t take people for granted, especially your family.”

The three other teenagers in the accident - South Windsor residents Sara S. Ballard, 19, and Christine E. Huppe, 17, and 16-year-old East Windsor resident Megan E. Barnaby - were hospitalized in the accident. Ballard was the driver of the black 2003 Ford Explorer that slammed into a tree Saturday evening.

The three injured teenagers' conditions were still not known as of Monday.

Chief of Police Matthew Reed said that the accident remains under investigation, but that speed was a factor in the crash.


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