Memorial grows for teens killed in Big Lake crash

BIG LAKE, Minn. (FOX 9) - Two crosses along Highway 25 identify Anthony Scott Krider and Donovan Paul Gobel as the two 17-year-old Elk River boys who died early on Saturday morning, after a devastating single-car crash in Big Lake.

Friends, family, and neighbors filtered by the crash site on Sunday, leaving flowers, balloons and candles for the boys. The crash also sent Charles Walter Gabrelcik to Hennepin Healthcare with life-threatening injuries.

"It was just so sad, so heartbreaking," neighbor Ashley Wannebo Perron told FOX 9. "It looks like it was hit by a train. It was horrible."

The impact of the crash appears to have knocked the bark clean off a tree in the front yard of a family home.

"That bang, and also the screeching of the tires, woke up some folks," Wannebo Perron continued. "That tree saved [my neighbor’s] life and his nephew’s life, because they were asleep in the living room, right in front of that tree."

The State Patrol says roads were dry when the boys crashed, just before 3 a.m. All three boys were wearing seat belts inside of a 2011 BMW 535. It’s unknown if alcohol was a factor.

"You can tell they were going too fast," Wannebo Perron said.

Moments before the crash, a Big Lake police officer had noticed the speeding car and turned around to pull it over. But by then, police say the car had left the road and rolled on a curve in the road near Pleasant Avenue.

A day later, Tony’s younger brother Johnny joined the crowd of mourners. The 11-year-old says he’ll cherish memories of playing video games and riding mountain bikes with his only brother.

"He’s one of those brothers that will do anything for you," Johnny finished. "He will do anything in his power to do anything for anybody that he cares about or loves."