According to our news partners at The Early Bird, this year’s football team led mourners Aug. 7 to the 50-yard line of the football field for a community memorial service.
“We could have very easily used our stands, but in the time that I was here, when Austin Bruner was here, I never saw him sit in the stands,” said Tri-Village High School Principal Lee Morris said. “I only saw him on the football field, and I only saw him on the track. We thought it would be appropriate that we went to a sacred acre that he enjoyed.”
Bruner, of Eldorado, was killed in the Aug. 6 crash on Hamilton Cleves Road. According to a police report, Bruner was driving a 2012 Dodge Ram 5500 pickup truck in the northbound lane. Bruner’s vehicle crossed the center line and into the southbound lanes, where his truck was struck head-on by a semi tractor-trailer.
Bruner was pronounced dead at the scene, the police report said. The driver of the semi, Richard Reilmann, 43, of Sunman, Ind., was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Speed, alcohol and/or drugs were not believed to be a factor in the crash, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.
A memorial service was held on Sunday inside the gymnasium at Tri-Village High School. Pastor David Richey officiated the service.
Memorial contributions may be given to the Austin Bruner Scholarship Memorial Fund, according to The Early Bird. Donations can be made at any Farmers State Bank.
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