School mourns loss of 18-year-old crash victim

Some students at Randall K. Cooper High School say the experience there will never be the same.

It can't be the same. Not without Travis Liversgowdy. He died Thursday afternoon from injuries related to a head-on crash Friday on Camp Ernst Road.

Several hundred Cooper students gathered outside the school's gymnasium Thursday night for a short prayer service and candlelit vigil. Immediately following the service, guidance counselors and some of the school's athletic coaches were made available for those in need of help processing the news.

Following the prayer service, students broke into small groups and recounted tales of the late 18-year-old.

Hugs were exchanged. Tears were shed. Some kept their candles lit for as long as an hour after the service.

They seemed reluctant to extinguish the flames just as they were reluctant to say goodbye to Liversgowdy, a beloved member of the community.

Smiles eventually broke through the tears. Students recalled Liversgowdy's personality, he of the "Dora the Explorer" book bag, and large jug of water he usually carried (Liversgowdy was a wrestler and lifted weights).

And his smile - Liversgowdy was known across the Cooper High School campus for it.

He put that famous smile to good use, as 16-year-old Hayley Karn of Union attested.

A self-described victim of teasing and bullying, Karn warmly described the first day Liversgowdy came and sat next to her at lunch.

"Last year, I was the girl no one liked. I was sitting by myself at lunch every day," Karn said. "This popular junior (Liversgowdy) came and sat next to me, and he sat there with me every day... To know that I was a nobody. For him to make me know that it (wasn't) OK to be bullied because someone like him who was known and popular and loved could help someone like me."

Members of the Cooper baseball team traveled back to campus for the vigil following a losing effort. The team huddled for a prayer in Liversgowdy's name prior to the ballgame, and knelt again with their peers upon returning to Cooper.

Hayley Johnson, 17, of Union, marveled at how one man could bring a community together as Liversgowdy did Thursday night.

"He literally made school joyous, honestly," Johnson said. "And now that he's gone, it's never going to be the same. There's not a dry eye in Cooper right now."

Liversgowdy, one of three students hospitalized in the Friday crash, was the front-seat passenger in the Toyota Camry that went left-of-center and struck an SUV head-on, police said.

Andrew McMullen, 19, of Union, who was riding in the back seat of the Camry, was ejected and thrown approximately 84 feet from the original point of the collision, officials said. He remains at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in serious condition.

Paige Brickler, the driver of the Camry, has been released from care.

From the second students learned of the crash, Cooper High School's presence on social media has been vast.

Student quickly organized a vigil that several hundred attended on the night of the accident. The Twitter hashtag #CooperStrong was a leading trend in the region overnight.

Seth Cohen, 17, organized Thursday's event with help from others.

"Travis was a likable guy. This (event) is... everyone remembering Travis. Remembering how he lived and what he stood for. And he stood, as you can see, a lot of great memories, a lot of smiles and a lot of laughter."