In Memory of Kevin Riley Clawson

Last August after my son Bryan was killed many people from all walks of life contacted me with similar stories of their losses, or for support during my trying times of learning to live without my son. One person in particular was Jane Clawson, from New Jersey; she offered condolences and prayers, and even attempted to make contact with Kat Von D so she could ink me with a tattoo of my son.

I like to believe we meet others for a reason, not just by chance, and many times we never learn why others come into our lives. Jane Clawson and I met for a reason, and the reason why became clear last week.

Last Thursday I received a call while at work from Jane, she was sobbing as she told me her son was killed the night before. As my eyes filled with tears, knowing what Jane, her husband David and children were going through, I felt helpless and was at a loss for words of comfort to give Jane at that very moment. So I allowed my friend to speak as long as she was able before saying goodbye.

Jane and I will continue communicating as time goes by, and this is in tribute of her son Kevin.

BY MARK MUELLER
Star-Ledger Staff

For the last three years, Kevin Clawson made it his mission to help care for his father, terminally ill with heart disease and the victim of two strokes.

The 13-year-old Freehold Township boy gave his dad back rubs and pep talks, staying by his side when David Clawson felt too weak to rise.

Through part of that time, the teen had his own support system in 12-year-old Graeme Preston, a classmate, fellow skateboarding buff and all-around good friend.

"Kevin's been having a hard time because his dad's been so ill, and Graeme wanted to be his support," said Kevin's mother, Jane Clawson. "Graeme told him he would always be there for him."

Yesterday, the community was mourning both boys, who were hit by a minivan at dusk Wednesday as they returned home from a friend's house.

Kevin, who celebrated his 13th birthday on Sunday, was killed instantly. Graeme died Thursday afternoon. Both were seventh-graders at Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School.

Jane Clawson, who is friends with the Preston family, said Graeme donated his organs, a gesture she called in keeping with the boy's eagerness to help others.

"Kevin would have been proud of Graeme," she said.

The accident happened just after 6 p.m. Wednesday on Bar Harbor Road, a residential street less than a mile from the Clawson home on Koenig Lane, where Graeme's mother, Anne Preston, waited to pick him up.

The driver of the minivan that hit Kevin and Graeme has not been charged. Police said the man, 84-year-old Frederick Eckhardt of Freehold Borough, was driving within the posted speed limit of 35 mph and was not under the influence of alcohol. The deaths have been classified an accident.

Jane Clawson said witnesses to the accident have told her both boys were walking at the time, skateboards in hand, and were struck as they crossed the street. The pair checked one direction but failed to look the other way as they walked out from behind a parked pickup truck, she said she was told.

"Sometimes when kids are in a group, they don't pay attention," she said, tears in her eyes. "It was a pure accident."

At the scene of the crash yesterday, 12- and 13-year-old friends of the boys taped posters and cards to a telephone pole. Balloons fluttered in the cold breeze. On the ground, scores of roses and carnations formed a 2-foot pile.

A broken skateboard, a tribute to Kevin's propensity for splitting his boards in half during jumps, lay on the ground amid scattered skateboard wheels signed by friends.

Kevin, the youngest of five siblings, spoke of one day becoming an Air Force pilot and hoped to join the ROTC program. Family members said he had started a skateboarding website and, in hopes of making some money from it, had been cold-calling companies that sell skateboards and apparel to advertise on it.

He found a kindred soul in Graeme, smaller and less certain on a skateboard but no less determined.

"Graeme was the toughest kid I ever met," said Anthony Viscuso, 12, a friend from school. "He would get hurt, cut his knee right open, and start laughing about it."

Like Kevin, Graeme was outgoing and quick to smile, whether in the hallways at school or out around town, the friends said.

"Every time you saw him, he just put a smile on your face," said Brittany Cannarozzi, 13, who left flowers and a card at the streetside memorial. "If you were down, he could make you feel better. He was just that kind of kid."

Graeme's family could not be reached yesterday, and a neighbor declined to comment, saying only that the 12-year-old was a "great kid."

Mark Mueller may be reached at mmueller@starledger.com