S.A.F.E. - Stay Alive From Education

Amanda Devlin on Wednesday morning gave her boyfriend, Stephen Price, a card that read simply, "Happy 16th Birthday. I love you."

The couple drove to Cypress Creek High School discussing birthday plans when Amanda made a U-turn on Town Center Boulevard and was struck from behind. Amanda's car spun forward. She hit a truck ahead of her being driven by her friend and schoolmate Heather Hansen, 16.

When it was all over, Amanda, who was wearing a seat belt, turned and found the passenger's seat empty. Amanda discovered Stephen, her boyfriend for a year, in the back seat bleeding. She crawled out of her car and located her cell phone, which had flown out the window. She called her mother, Prima Throop.

"Mom, we got into an accident," Amanda sobbed. "Stephen's bleeding really, really bad."

Stephen, who was not wearing a seat belt, died of massive head injuries, his family said. No one else was seriously injured. Florida Highway Patrol officials were investigating the exact speed of the driver who hit Amanda's car and whether Amanda made a safe U- turn across heavy traffic on the four-lane road. No one was cited Wednesday.

The traffic in that area is a "nightmare in the morning," said Orange County Deputy Sheriff Frank Soto, a Cypress Creek school resource officer.

Hours after the crash, about a dozen students gathered at Amanda's home in the Deerfield neighborhood in south Orange County. They comforted Amanda and remembered their schoolmate's quirky sense of humor and passion for life.

He had pet names for all of his friends and called Amanda "Manda Bear." He had planned to wear a top hat at their junior prom later in the year.

After their third day of school Wednesday, the pair had planned to go to the Florida Mall, where they would pick up the gold chain Amanda bought him for his birthday.

Wednesday morning, before Amanda picked him up at 7:15 a.m., Stephen chatted with his stepfather, Mike Benfer, about what restaurant the trio would go to that night to celebrate.

Stephen was disappointed that his mother was not in town to join them. Jeannie Benfer was in Ohio, where her father was recovering from a stroke.

Stephen grabbed a couple of cookies and a vitamin, his typical breakfast. Before walking out the door, Benfer gave his stepson a birthday card.

Inside his son's room, Benfer pointed to a shelf that held Stephen's prized baseball collection, which included one from 1994, the year he was named Most Valuable Player on his Little League team.

He loved sleeping in, but he always got up early enough to make his bed. His bedroom was immaculate. His bedroom walls were covered with surfing posters, although he didn't surf. Stephen, who was raised in Ohio, lined his desk with Cleveland Indians baseball caps.

Stephen was an only child. After Jeannie married Mike Benfer, the family moved to Orlando in 1996.

The family took many trips on Mike Benfer's 22-foot fishing boat. Once Stephen met Amanda, she went with them.

After the death was announced, Principal Thomas Akin led the school's 4,600 students in a moment of silence.

"He was the only one who could hit my pitches," said Peter Sotomayor, 16, who played against Stephen in the South Orange Little League.

Later on Wednesday, more than 50 of Stephen's friends gathered at Holy Cross Catholic Church to celebrate his life.

They remembered the way he would carry girls piggyback during gym class and threaten to drop them. While students spoke, Amanda wept as she cradled a white teddy bear with a heart bearing the embroidered word LOVE that Stephen had given her.

At the accident site, a memorial was set up. Nestled among red, yellow and white flowers was a card from Amanda's father and stepmother, Butch and Kristie Devlin.

"Dear Stephen," the card read. "You will always be in our hearts and lives. I loved you as a son and always will. You loved my daughter. She loved you and always will."

(The Orlando Sentinel)