11:05 pm: Nicholas Wayne Muska, Nicholas James Van Pelt, and Chelsea Lee Millard
Waco, Texas: Five friends went to the movies together and afterward piled into an SUV with a 16-year-old boy behind the wheel. Nicholas Wayne Muska and Nicholas James Van Pelt of West, Texas, also 16, and 15-year-old Chelsea Lee Millard of China Spring rode in the back seat of the Ford Expedition. The driver and a 14-year-old girl were in front. "One of the girls had a curfew, and it was right about 11 o'clock and they were hurrying to get her home so she wouldn't get into trouble," says Tommy Muska, Nick Muska's father, who'd spoken to his son on his cellphone around 10 o'clock that night. "For some reason they tried to take a shortcut through a small paved road instead of going on the main road," Tommy Muska recalls. "The road turned abruptly, and the driver didn't know it was that sharp of a turn. He was going way too fast. The car flipped on its side. The roof hit a tree right in the back seat and collapsed. When that happened Chelsea got thrown out. Nick stayed inside the vehicle, and Nick Van Pelt was still in too. Nick died instantly. Chelsea died. Van Pelt died a few days later." None of the teens in the back seat was belted. The 14-year-old girl in the front seat escaped unharmed. The driver had minor injuries. Both were using belts. "At about 12:45 the West police came to our house and told us that there was an accident and that Nick was involved in it and that he didn't make it, which is the most devastating news that a parent could ever hear. And then that's when our life changed forever. Ours and everybody else's," Muska says. The 16-year-old driver was charged with 3 counts of criminally negligent homicide, but the charges later were dropped. The boy's unrestricted license meant he could drive with teen passengers in the car and drive at night under Texas' graduated licensing system for young beginners. He was Nick Muska's best friend. "That's another thing that's so tragic about it," Tommy Muska says. "He has to live with not only killing his best friend but he killed two other kids along with him. That's punishment enough." "Nick was an amazing young person," his father says. "His charm was that he made people feel comfortable. He talked to them, whether you were the prettiest girl in school or not. He was very open and honest with everybody." Eagle Scout Nick Van Pelt's friends remember him as ever cheerful, with a positive attitude and contagious smile. His confirmation into the Catholic church would have been the Sunday after the crash. At West High he played football, tennis, and golf. He liked to go to cattle auctions and hang out with his twin, Marie, and 2 other sisters. Chelsea Millard's friends describe a "million dollar smile" and a "golden heart." She was an outgoing girl who easily made new friends. A rising sophomore at China Spring High School, she was a powerlifter and also played volleyball and basketball. "Chelsea was the most amazing girl I have ever known. She will be always loved and never forgotten," says friend Amie Kay in a blog dedicated to Chelsea. "They had 5 kids in that car," Tommy Muska says. "One minute they were goofing off and the next minute Nick's dead. It comes down to too many kids in the car. They're talking and they're listening to the radio. This was 11 o'clock. They were going too fast. A bunch of kids in the car. The odds were just all stacked against them."
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At West High School, Nick Muska (pictured) played baseball, basketball, and ran cross country. He was in several academic clubs. 