Log in to WRAL.com with one click using your favorite social network:
OR
Log in using your WRAL.com account:



Wrong email/password combination.

Forgot password?

Register with WRAL.com using your favorite social network:
OR
Register for a WRAL.com account using our web form.

Login Options

2:39 p.m. • 2-12-12

Weather Forecast for Raleigh

  • Mon: Partly Cloudy.
    • Hi: 50° F
  • Tue: Rain.
    • Hi: 53° F
  • Wed: Partly Cloudy.
    • Hi: 57° F

Other Locations

> 7 Day Forecast

Doppler Image

Marketplace Links

Social Links

Main Menu

Police: School prank led to wreck that injured teen


e-mail print friendly
Alec Esoda - mug shot 5/29/09
Alec Esoda - mug shot 5/29/09

Leesville Road High School seniors and graduates packed into a pickup truck were trying to pull off a school prank early Friday when the truck overturned, critically injuring one teen and leading to DWI charges against the driver, Raleigh police said.

The students were parking a boat with a school logo, mascots and "Class of '09" painted on it in the Leesville High School parking lot around 2 a.m., said Wake County public schools spokesman Michael Evans. Students said the vessel was a sailboat.

The police report on the wreck says that Alec William Esoda, 18, of 12408 Tappersefield Court, accelerated quickly to 25 mph while backing out of the parking lot onto O'Neal Road. Esoda attempted to turn around when the 2005 Ford rolled over and came to rest on its roof, according to the wreck report. Students riding in the bed of the truck were ejected.

Police said that Taylor Rodman Bucklin, 18, and Ian Anthony Bunn, 17, both of Raleigh, who were in the truck bed, were taken to Rex Hospital. Bunn was seriously injured and listed in critical condition in intensive care Saturday. Bucklin was not seriously injured.

EMS workers treated Zachary Mitchel Blalock, 19, of Raleigh, at the scene. Esoda and two passengers in the cab – Daniel Carl Walser, 18, and Charles Walter Blalock, 18, both of Raleigh – weren't injured.

Police suspect that there was a delay in reporting the wreck. The first call to 911 came, not from the scene, but from Rex security.

Esoda did not appear impaired at the scene, but a test revealed he had a 0.08 blood alcohol content level, according to the wreck report.

Police charged Esoda with DWI, provisional DWI, reckless driving and felony serious injury by vehicle. Provisional DWI is a charge issued against drivers under age 21 who are suspected of driving after drinking alcohol.

Esoda had his first court appearance Friday morning and was released from jail on bond. His next court appearance was set for Thursday, June 18.

Zachary Blalock graduated from Leesville last year, and all the others are seniors at Leesville, Evans said.

Students described Esoda, Bunn and others involved in the wreck as good kids.

"I know a lot of the people who were involved personally, and they normally would not get involved in that sort of thing," a senior named Robert said, adding that he was glad nothing worse happened.

Leesville High Principal Scott Lyons said that disciplinary action was being considered.

Parent Brashant Shah, who lives near the high school, said he is concerned about students driving erratically and making lots of noise.

"I call police so many times. They stop them, but they keep on going," Shah said.

RELATED TOPICS: Public Schools, Leesville, Raleigh, Wake County

e-mail print friendly

145 Comments


WRAL.com welcomes your comments on this story. All comments are moderated prior to publication based on our posting guidelines. Please review them prior to posting and if your message is not approved.

View Comments VIEW ALL 145 COMMENTS

This story is closed for comments. Comments on WRAL.com news stories are accepted and moderated between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Latest Comments
um, im not seeing why any of you are blaming the kid's parents. i know some of the parents whose children were involved and had they known that someone (or some people, although there is no evidence to supopset anyone other then Alec had been drinking) was drunk, there children wouldn't have been involved, you think the parents made him drink the alcohol? gave him the car keys? forced him to make the decisions he did? i dont think so.

moving the boat had nothing to do with the accident, it could have very easily happened at any given time. i don't agree with the decisions that Alec made nor am i condoning any decisions made that, but i don't understand why all of you are being so judgemental of the poor decisions made by Alec or any of the other boys, because i bet 95% of you can't sit here and honestly tell me that you did EVERYTHING your parents asked of you 100% of the time.

"Police charged Esoda with DWI, provisional DWI, reckless driving and felony serious injury by vehicle." -article

Lock him up!

elkeasler: For those who do not, what where you doing at our age?

Let's see, when I was a senior, I was watching boys this age get drafted and shot in Vietnam. Kids were worried about their lottery draft number, not knowing where they might be six months from now. Why is it teens always think they are living through the most trying, stressful of times, much worse than any generations before them? This kid was drinking and driving, PERIOD, end of thought. You do the crime you pay the time. That's life, get used to it.

One kid is in critical condition an another student "Robert Whoever" makes the statement that at least nothing worse happened? Wasn't this bad enough to make it a tragedy? What's in the water these kids are drinking, or maybe...what are they smoking? This much is clear. Parents, schools and communities have totally lost control of way too many kids. The inmates are running the asylum.

i have heard from friends that ian is in stable condition. most of the kids involved last night were not even the kids who put the boat there in the first place.

View Comments VIEW ALL 145 COMMENTS
Report It

Multimedia

Click Here