BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Family members are mourning an Essex Junction teen who died in a two-car crash on the Burlington Beltline Wednesday evening.
Police say Mark Omand, 18 — who his mom says was changing his name to Marcus Villa — died after his car crossed the median and struck another car just south of the North Avenue interchange around 5:30 p.m.
The person driving the Jeep, Derek Lorrain, 45, of Burlington, had to be extracted from the car by the fire department and was sent to the hospital. His condition was not available on Thursday.
Christie Villa says her son was set to graduate in the spring. “He was literally the sweetest kid ever. He would do anything for anybody. He was just silly with driving, and kids are supposed to make mistakes, but not die from them,” she said.
There was no immediate word from the Essex School District about the student’s death.
The crash caused a brief power outage in Burlington’s New North End, according to Burlington Electric.