Ben Campbell was the youngest of six children, but his personality was larger than most.
Ben, a 17-year-old senior at Elizabeth High School, was killed Tuesday afternoon after a Jeep collided with the sedan he and two other students were riding in on Elbert County Road 154 off Colorado 86.
“Ben was a very bright, beautiful boy with a wonderful sense of humor, he could make you smile, he could make you laugh,” said Lisa Shipman Campbell, Ben’s mother. “We loved him dearly.”
Amber Wilburn, 16, a junior, and 18-year-old Izzy Veed, a senior from Kiowa, were airlifted to hospitals in critical condition. The sedan, a 1996 Buick Century, was hit by the Jeep when it pulled out onto County Road 154 around 2 p.m.
The driver of a Jeep, a 19-year-old woman from Elizabeth, whose name has not been released, had minor injuries.
Ben was riding in the front passenger seat of the car, Campbell said.
He died instantly.
Izzy was driving the car and Amber, Ben’s girlfriend of two years, was riding in the back.
“He was just a good boy and he was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Campbell said.
A comfort center was set up for students at Elizabeth High School on Wednesday, and counselors were available throughout the day.
“Support each other through these difficult days,” the school’s principal Greg Wienman said in a statement. “Please keep Amber, Izzy and Ben and their families in your thoughts and prayers.”
Charges have not been filed against either driver and the investigation could take weeks to complete, said Trooper Heather Cobler, spokeswoman for the Colorado State Patrol.
The three students were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the accident. Drugs and alcohol are not suspected to have played a role in the accident.
A memorial for Ben will take place on Saturday at the Kiowa Creek Community Church at 10 a.m. The family asks that donations be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in Ben’s name.
Jordan Steffen: 303-945-1794 or jsteffen@denverpost.com
