Local teens killed in Carey auto
accident
Emergency response hampered
in separate accident
Funerals scheduled
Anthony L. Fiscus: Funeral services
for Fiscus are scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 17 at 2 p.m. at the Carey School
old gymnasium.
Memorial funds in memory of Fiscus can
be sent to the First Bank of Idaho in Bellevue, care of the Anthony Fiscus
memorial fund.
Shawn P. Barker and Nicko E. Gabiola:
Funeral services for Barker and Gabiola are scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 18 at
4 p.m. at the L.D.S. Chapel in Carey. Cremation will follow the services.
Donations can be made in loving memory
of the two boys to: Kaleb Gabiola, care of Mountain West Bank, 206 North Main,
Hailey, ID 83333.
Another fund in memory of two boys has
been established at First Bank of Idaho, with branches in Hailey and Ketchum.
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
Three Carey teens were killed, and a
Bellevue teen critically injured, last week when the vehicle they were in slid
across U.S. Highway 93 near Carey and into a barrow pit, where the vehicle
collided with a large concrete culvert.
Anthony Fiscus
Courtesy photo
The accident occurred on Friday, Sept. 12
at approximately 11:45 p.m. just north of Carey on U.S. Highway 93. According to
authorities, all four of the vehicle’s occupants were wearing seat belts.
The front seat passenger, 19-year-old
Anthony L. Fiscus, a Carey High School senior, was transported by Life Flight to
Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise. He died there from injuries
sustained in the accident.
Cousins Shawn P. Barker, 14, and Nicko E.
Gabiola, 14, were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Though they were
cousins, they were raised as brothers. Shawn was in eighth grade at the Carey
School, and Nicko was a freshman at Carey High School.
The driver, 17-year-old Kimberly Mitma, is
from Bellevue and was also transported by Life Flight to Saint Alphonsus, where
she remained in critical condition at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
The accident "hits the valley very hard,"
said Blaine County School District Superintendent Jim Lewis.
Shawn Barker
Courtesy photo
According to a press release from Blaine
County Sheriff Walt Femling, an investigation at the accident scene showed that
Mitma was driving north on U.S. Highway 93 when she lost control of her 1999
Mercury Cougar two-door hatchback. The vehicle slid sideways across the
southbound lane into the west side barrow ditch and into the large culvert.
No mechanical difficulty or tire problems
were apparent, said Gene Ramsey, Blaine County Chief Deputy Sheriff.
Although three beer cans were discovered
near the vehicle, Ramsey said there was no sign of alcohol on the breath of the
driver.
Meanwhile, while responding to the fatal
accident, a Carey-Picabo Rural Fire Department fire engine collided with a
pickup truck driven by John R. Cenarrusa, 31, of Carey.
Cenarrusa was south-bound and, failing to
yield to the oncoming emergency vehicle, turned in front of the fire engine,
which skidded into the side of Cenarrusa’s truck, Ramsey said. Cenarrusa and his
passenger, Perry Meguregui of Shoshone, were treated and released at St. Luke’s
Wood River Medical Center.
James E. Churchman, 46, of Gannett, who
was driving the fire engine, was unharmed.
Nicko Gabiola
Courtesy photo
Ramsey said the Blaine County Sheriff’s
Office is considering several charges against Cenarrusa, including driving under
the influence and failure to properly yield.
The fatal accident is still under
investigation, Ramsey said.
Fiscus, nicknamed Tony, was the son of
Francis M. Fiscus of Carey and Marsha Culver of Twin Falls. He was a lifetime
resident of Carey.
According to his obituary, he enjoyed
working on landscaping and gardening, tinkering with his truck and computer
programs. When snow fell, he shoveled the sidewalks in front of the post office
and nearby church.
He is survived by his parents, three
brothers, a sister and numerous members of his extended family.
Shawn Barker was born in Jerome to Pennie
Barker and Patrick Gabiola. His short life was centered in Carey, where he was
involved in football and basketball.
According to the two boys’ obituary,
Barker loved to work outdoors and had a natural mechanical ability.
"To best sum up our beloved Shawn is to
say that he was truly a kind-hearted boy with nothing mean to say about anyone,"
according to the obituary. "…But Shawn’s true love and devotion was to his Mom,
who will forever hold close to her heart her best friend, her son Shawn."
Barker is survived by his parents; his
stepfather Rodrigo Apolaya-Mitma of Lima, Peru; a brother and numerous extended
family members.
Curly-haired Nicko Gabiola was born in
Nampa to Susan Gabiola and Tony Welicko. He was active in baseball, basketball
and was a proud member of the Carey High School football team.
Like Barker, Gabiola loved the outdoors
and enjoyed every opportunity he had to go camping, fishing, dirt bike riding or
snowmobiling.
"Nicko is lovingly remembered as a young
man so eager to help and had a smile as big as his heart," according to the
obituary. "Nicko was so proud to attend school in Carey and knew he had many
friends whom he shared a lot of good times."
Gabiola is survived by his parents, a
brother and numerous extended family members.