LORIS, S.C. (WMBF) – A North Strand community is grieving the tragic and heartbreaking loss of 17-year-old Sean Herd.
The teenager was killed on Friday, by a suspected drunk driver.
“We’ve lost a brother. As we say, one band is one family and we’re missing one of our own,” said Loris High School classmate and bandmember, Layla Shannon.
Herd was a rising senior at Loris High School. He was the school’s band captain and was a talented trumpet player.
On Monday, those closest to him reflected on Herd’s life.
“When I think of Sean, I think about his bubbly, charismatic, goofy personality that he always brought into the band room for all of us,” said Shannon.
“He’s so bright and such a great addition to this band and I’m so grateful we got to meet him and he got to be a part of our band,” said Loris High School classmate and band member Lilith Draper.
Herd was leaving his final day of a two-week-long band camp at the high school when the accident happened. 36-year-old Seth Rosen is accused of hitting and killing Herd in the head-on DUI crash.
“We just want everybody to know how important he was and how unfair that is that that man gets to continue to live his life when Sean can’t,” said Shannon.
The deadly wreck is also sparking outrage among local advocates.
“Heartbreak. Immediate heartbreak for his parents, for his family. They’re never going to see him graduate high school. I just can’t imagine what they’re feeling, what they’re going through,” said an Horry County Mother, Kalie Fowler.
Herd’s friends said he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his older brother and attend the University of South Carolina, after graduation. They said he aspired to major in accounting or business.
Until they meet again, his classmates said preventing future DUI crashes starts with you.
“We always talked about how we don’t support drinking and driving and we strictly will not,” said Draper.
“Drunk driving is not cool. It’s time we stand up to our ‘friends’ and say, you know, ‘Listen, this is not cool.’ You’ve got to not only think about yourself, but the others around you,” said Fowler.
Loris High School is now offering counseling to its students.
Rosen remains in jail without bond.
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