Families of Greenon teens killed in crash to attend NASCAR race

The families of two Greenon teens killed in a car crash last month will attend a NASCAR race next weekend as guests of a team.

The families of Greenon senior David Waag, 17, and sophomore Connor Williams, 15, who played football at Greenon while attending classes at the Global Impact STEM Academy in Springfield, will be guests of Joey Gase and his team on Sept. 23 at Kentucky Speedway.

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Mark Sanders, the fuel man and the team engineer for the 52 Jimmy Means Xfinity Camaro, said he wants to make sure the family knows the community supports their family. Sanders is a Greenon graduate and lives in Clark County. He works the races on the weekends.

“They will meet the team, the owner and the driver,” Sanders said. “I know Connor was a very passionate car buff.”

Joey Gase’s number 52 NASCAR Xfinity Series car has sported a Greenon decal that also features the pictures of Waag and Williams this season after the boys’ death.

Connor and David were killed when a black 2005 Toyota Corolla they were in the back seat of went off the right side of Wilkerson Road between Fairborn and Yellow Springs, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said. The two boys weren’t wearing seat belts at the time, the state patrol said.

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Sanders said he had dinner with the two families recently to extend the invitation to them. Connor’s mother, father, sister and her boyfriend and David’s mother and her boyfriend are expected to attend the race Sept. 23.

“We want them to know that we are here for them,” Sanders said. “This is important to me and our team.”

The state patrol’s Xenia Post continues to investigate the crash, Lt. Mark Schmenk said, and are waiting on some evidence before they send a report to the prosecutor.

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“We are still waiting on some recon work and we are waiting on the blood evidence to come back from our lab,” Schmenk said.

An initial report indicated neither drugs nor alcohol were suspected to be a contributing factor in the crash.

The race won’t be the first time the two boys have been honored. The boys had a public, well-attended funeral at the high school and their sports numbers have been placed in the center of the Greenon High School field. They also will be honored before the Greenon High School football game Friday night.

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