Teen killed in auto accident remembered as a hero

Update, 12:08 p.m. Wednesday: The minister of OnMission Church, where the family attended, has created a GoFundMe account to collect donations to defray the cost of funeral expenses for Austin's family. The web address for that effort is www.gofundme.com/ttq5ntd6.

WASILLA — Meadow Lakes mourned the death of one of its own Tuesday as new details emerged about the man authorities say was driving the truck that hit and killed Austin Edenfield Monday afternoon as the 15-year-old walked alongside Pittman Road.

A day after the tragic death of the Burchell High student, friends were calling the Superman fan a hero in his own right after reports emerged that his final act may have been to save a friend’s life.

Reports that Edenfield died shortly after pushing friend Will Johns from the path of an oncoming car aren’t out of character, said Burchell principal Jason Marvel.

“That’s something Austin would have done,” he said.

Marvel described the mood at the school system’s 300-student alternative high school as somber Tuesday morning as news of Austin’s death sunk in.

Johns’ mother, Kimberlee, said the teens got off the school bus at around 2:50 p.m. and walked to Austin’s house before continuing on toward Three Bears. In a Facebook message Tuesday, she said her son told her he and Austin were talking about their plans for the weekend when Will heard “a thud” and felt himself being knocked by Austin’s body into the ditch.

Johns said her son tried to revive his friend, but Austin never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at the scene.

“This shouldn’t have happened,” Johns wrote. “Austin was a kind, polite young boy. He will always be remembered.”

Three grief counselors were available Tuesday for students at Burchell.

“We’re a school in mourning right now,” Marvel said.

Austin’s adviser, Lisa Boswell, was among those grieving the loss Tuesday.

“He was one of my favorite students,” she said tearfully. “Every day he would give me a fist bump and say ‘Good morning,’ and ask me if he could make a pot of coffee. And I would say ‘Don’t make the whole pot because it’s going to go to waste.”

Driver had Monday court date

According to court documents, the man who struck and killed Austin Edenfield on Monday afternoon was in court earlier that same morning finalizing a deal with prosecutors that allowed him to avoid a potential lengthy jail sentence.

Court records show Bryon Melton, 28, of Willow, pleaded guilty at a 10 a.m. hearing Monday in Palmer court to a misdemeanor charge of attempted second-degree theft. He was free to go after getting sentenced by judge David Zwink to 30 days in jail with 30 days’ credit for time served. Melton was originally indicted on felony second-degree burglary and second-degree theft charges for an incident that took place in 2013.

Prosecuting attorney Melissa Wininger-Howard said in a Tuesday email the case involved Melton and three co-defendants. She said Melton admitted his part in the theft of televisions from the Best Western Lake Lucille in January 2013. A hotel employee at the time, Melton gave his access card to a co-defendant. He did not appear for an out-of-custody arraignment in 2013, and was issued an arrest warrant, after which he was released on a $2,000 performance bond. The court later ordered the bond paid to the hotel as restitution, Wininger-Howard wrote.

Melton “did not receive any of the televisions and was implicated in the thefts by another co-defendant,” she wrote.

The sentence was appropriate for the case, Wininger-Howard said.

“The resolution of the theft case was appropriate given the circumstances of the case, subsequent evidentiary issues with the case, and payment of restitution in full,” she wrote.

Court records show Melton is currently facing two misdemeanor charges stemming from an incident in January in which he was arrested at the Alaska-Canada border for allegedly driving without a valid license and violating a domestic violence protective order.

In an online dispatch issued Monday evening, troopers said Melton was driving south on Pittman at around 3:05 p.m. when he struck Edenfield, who was walking on the southbound shoulder of the two-lane road.

Melton remained at the scene and could be seen talking to investigators in the minutes after the crash.

Roads in the area Monday afternoon were dry and the weather was partly cloudy with temperatures in the 30s.

A spokeswoman for the Alaska State Troopers said Tuesday the fatal collision remains under investigation. She said no arrests or citations had been issued in connection with the crash, which shut down Pittman road for about three hours while troopers investigated.

Super-sized heart

Alissa Brotherwood, an 18-year-old senior, met Austin in the seventh grade at Houston High School. To her, he was a long-time acquaintance who grew into a friend over the years. On Tuesday, she wore a Superman t-shirt to school in honor of her departed classmate known for his love of the comic book hero Man of Steel, working out and gaming.

She said teachers read a one-page statement at the beginning of the school’s first-period class. During the day, students worked to stay upbeat, listening to Bob Marley, one of Austin's favorite musicians.

“We’re more of like a family than anything,” Brotherwood said. “It was basically saying that we lost one of our family members today and we need to be there for each other more than anything, support each other. Today, if you wanted to work you could work, and if you didn’t, you could talk to a counselor. Mostly we told stories about him. We wanted to make light of it, so lots of memories. Happy things.”

Brotherwood said she was going through a tough time, which Austin took note of. The next day, Austin wrote her a heartfelt, two-page letter.

“It said … how it makes him sad when people that he cares about are sad, and he just wanted to make sure I knew he was there with a hug whenever I needed it,” she recalled.

When word of Austin’s death began to circulate Monday, Brotherwood went home and found the letter, got it laminated and carried it with her all day Tuesday. She said it was comforting to have a piece of Austin so close.

“He made me a stronger person,” she said. “He made a lot of us stronger.”