CAR CRASH VICTIMS IN PRAYERS; DEATH OF TEEN, INJURIES TO OTHER STUN PARACLETE HIGH.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Daily News Staff Writer

Paraclete High School students and faculty prayed Tuesday for two schoolmates - one dead and one unconscious but clinging to life after a car crash.

Paraclete junior Marc Valdez, 15, died when he was thrown 30 feet from a car that went out of control and crashed Monday afternoon on rain-slick 30th Street West.

Sixteen-year-old driver Joel Johnson, also a junior, remained in critical condition with a head injury in the Critical Care Unit at Antelope Valley Hospital.

Paraclete's principal, the Rev. William Caffrey, who comforted Johnson's parents at the hospital late Monday night, described the boys as ``good kids.''

``It's very tragic,'' he said.

The two boys were taking advantage of Monday's school holiday. They had planned to go to Magic Mountain, but changed their minds because of the rain. They were on their way to Valdez's home after seeing a movie when the car went out of control.

Johnson was driving a 1990 Ford Tempo north at 55 mph on 30th Street West just before 1:25 p.m., according to California Highway Patrol Officer Charles Gilliland. He said there was light rain and the roadway was wet and slick.

Near Avenue N-4, a motorist driving in the opposite direction saw the Tempo drift off the two-lane roadway's pavement, Gilliland said. The driver overcorrected first to the left, then to the right.

The vehicle spun into the southbound lane, where it was hit by a 1994 Nissan Quest mini-van, and came to rest in a field.

Officials said neither boy was wearing a seat belt. Johnson had been driving for about a month, officials said.

Mini-van driver Ronda Royal, 35, of Palmdale suffered a fractured collarbone. Her 9-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter were uninjured.

Flowers and crosses were set out Tuesday at the crash site, and at the school Tuesday morning students and faculty took part in a special prayer service during homeroom period. The mood at the 725-student school was described as somber.

``You know something has happened,'' Caffrey said. ``No one was talking out. Groups are going together to sit in the chapel.''

Five counselors were available to talk to students and a special Mass had been planned for 11 a.m. today.

This is not the first time the school has been hit with tragedy.

Six years ago, four students died within one year. One died in a plane crash at Los Angeles International Airport, one from an accidental shooting on a hunting trip, another from leukemia and the fourth in a car crash.

In 1995, Paraclete athlete Brant Theuer suffered brain damage in a car crash, and is still struggling to recover.

``It's very difficult to go through something like this,'' Caffrey said. ``The Lord has been able to help us get through them.''

The losses at Paraclete and other Antelope Valley schools are an illustration of why car crashes are the No. 1 killer of teen-agers, officials said.

In California, one teen is killed every other day; teen drivers made up 9 percent of all drivers involved in fatal crashes, though they make up just 4 percent of the state's drivers.

Officials hope a new teen-age driving bill that will take effect in July will reduce many of these crashes.

Among other provisions, it will forbid teens from driving passengers under age 20 for the first six months they have their licenses, and forbids them from driving after midnight for the first year except with a parent or driving instructor.

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1) Marc Valdez

Died on school holiday

(2) Joel Johnson

In critical condition