Concord teenager killed in car crash

16-year-old driver listed as critical at Lahey Clinic

A family friend called Hentchel "spirited and bright."

CONCORD - When 18-year-old Chris Hentchel sat for dinner with his family Friday, his mother never dreamed it would be his last.

Later that evening, the senior at Concord-Carlisle Regional High School was killed instantly in a car accident as he returned home after running an errand with his friend, Greg Woodson, 16, also of Concord. Driving along Route 2A in Lexington shortly after 10 p.m., Woodson lost control of his red Dodge Caravan and hit a tree.

"You don't expect it like this," said Janice Pappas, a friend of the family at the family's home in Concord. "It was a reasonable hour, they weren't out at a party, there wasn't even another car involved."

Woodson was in critical condition at Lahey Clinic in Burlington, police said yesterday.

Speed appears to have been a factor in the crash, Lexington Police Sergeant George Anderson said in a phone interview. The crash is under investigation, and it was not clear whether Woodson was authorized to have Hentchel in the van.

Woodson's family could not be reached for comment. Pappas said the teens went out at about 9:30 Friday night to buy something for Hentchel's iPod.

When they had not returned hours later, Hentchel's mother, Melody Orfei, grew frantic. Police confirmed her fears about 1 a.m. yesterday.

"She had just moved her mom up from Florida, and the whole family had gotten together for dinner," said Pappas, who lives in Hamilton. "She's glad they had that time."

Hentchel loved music and was active with his school's radio station, Pappas said. His musical tastes varied from classic rock to rap, but his favorite group was Israeli trance band Infected Mushroom.

He worked part time at Brine's Sporting Goods in Concord.

"He was just your typical teenager," Pappas said. "He was spirited and bright. He had a lot of friends."

Nearly 400 people had joined a memorial page on Facebook.com late yesterday afternoon.

"I remember all those times raving together to Infected Mushroom," one friend wrote. "I especially loved all the wild dance parties we had; I remember you'd always bring your strobe light and your awesome rave skills."

He had been accepted at Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I., where he planned to major in communications, Pappas said.

"He was extremely bright," Pappas said. "He'd built his own iPod out of two broken ones."

Grief counselors will be on hand at Concord-Carlisle from noon to 2 p.m. today, school officials said.

Services are pending and will be handled by Dee Funeral Home in Concord.

Tania deLuzuriaga can be reached at deluzuriaga@globe.com.