RIP Tejae Carlson
Grief for dead teen
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Family, friends, flowers and food filled the Merchant-Carlsons' Grass Valley house Sunday afternoon, when loved ones gathered to mourn the death of 17-year-old Tejae Carlson.
A lover of rap music and nice cars who prided himself on his appearance, Tejae was killed late Friday when the silver Chevy Malibu he was driving ran into a PG&E pole and swerved into a large tree.
He was taken to Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Tejae was returning home from a friend's house, his mother, Beki Merchant, said. He was killed less than a block from his house.
The accident is under investigation, but additional information will not be released because he was a juvenile, said Grass Valley Sgt. Joe Matteoni.
Tejae, a junior at Nevada Union High School, lived with his mother, stepfather Mike Merchant and younger siblings Lane, Lizzy and Robbie.
"My son was everything to us. He was really beloved by the community," Merchant said.
Tejae was also close to his father, Richard Carlson, who lives in Las Vegas. He had been thinking of going to college and then working with his dad in Las Vegas, Merchant said.
Tejae loved spending time at the Yuba River with his many friends and was an avid L.A. Lakers and Kobe Bryant fan, his mother said.
Flowers, candles, and personal notes mark the place he died along Packard Street. A large box of Kleenex lies on the lawn near the dangling wires of the unearthed utility pole.
Friends and family congregated at the site to mourn.
"He had a great personality," said friend Shandy Spears, 17, through tears. "He was a great person."