Friends mourn death of Eastern Kentucky student
Posted: Wednesday November 18, 1998 09:35 PM
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Tim Couch (above) on Scott Brock: "I never met a guy that didn't like him. He just kind of grows on you. He's just one of those people that's just real down to earth, a good guy that everybody wants to be around." AP |
THOUSANDSTICKS, Kentucky (AP) -- School was canceled Wednesday in the district where Scott Brock volunteered as an assistant high school football coach, and mourners spilled outside a church, watching his funeral on a television monitor.
The 21-year-old Eastern Kentucky student died early Sunday on a hunting trip when a pickup truck driven by a friend -- University of Kentucky starting center Jason Watts -- flipped.
Kentucky player Artie Steinmetz, a Michigan State transfer who was sitting out the season, also died in the crash.
Watts was charged Tuesday with second-degree manslaughter and driving under the influence after tests showed his blood-alcohol content was 1 1/2 times the legal limit.
On Wednesday, Brock's maroon No. 5 Leslie County football jersey hung in the front of the church near his casket, along with photographs from his playing career.
Brock's best friend, Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch, sat on a folding chair along the front row of the church as pastor Steve Springer described Brock as friendly and always willing to help others.
Watts, who sustained a gash the length of his right forearm, was upgraded to good condition Wednesday at the University of Kentucky Medical Center.
Couch, who has rewritten the Wildcats' record book, grew up with Brock in the nearby mountain town of Hyden. He did not speak at Wednesday's service, but earlier in the week choked back tears as he remembered his friend.
"I never met a guy that didn't like him," Couch said. "He just kind of grows on you. He's just one of those people that's just real down to earth, a good guy that everybody wants to be around."
On Thursday, the Kentucky football team was to take a bus to northern Kentucky for Steinmetz's funeral.
Steinmetz's mother, Therese, lashed out at prosecutors for bringing charges against Watts.
"No one -- no one -- will ever replace my son Artie and ... that poor young man is in the hospital trying to heal and get well and he's being charged with something like this. It's just unbelievable and not necessary," she told the Herald-Leader.
Last year, Watts paid a fine after shooting teammate Omar Smith in the buttocks as they handled a rifle outside the house they shared in Lexington.
An initial assault charge against Watts was later reduced to unlawful discharge of a weapon, a violation of city ordinance, in part because Smith refused to file a criminal complaint or testify against Watts.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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