17-year-old student-athlete killed in Louisiana crash. ‘He changed all of our lives’
“Time has moved painfully slow,” Annie Freeman, a Zachary High School math teacher, wrote on Facebook the night of April 14.
“I can’t stop hearing Tristan’s voice or seeing his sweet and caring face.”
One of Freeman’s senior students, 17-year-old Tristan Vessel, was killed after his car rolled over and caught fire in Louisiana, The Baton Rouge Police Department said in a news release.
Vessel was a top athlete on the school’s swim team and was on his way to swim practice on April 13 when he was involved in a fiery crash on the interstate, WAFB reported.
The high school senior was driving on Interstate 110 when he lost control of the car just north of the North 22nd overpass, police said in the release.
“Vessel crashed into a concrete wall that caused the gas tank to rupture,” police said in the release. Police said Vessel’s 2013 Acura TSX burst into flames.
Firefighters extinguished the flames and located Vessel inside, already deceased, WBRZ reported.
Vessel was the only person in the vehicle when it crashed, a spokesperson from the Baton Rouge Police Department told McClatchy News.
“We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Tristan Vessel,” the Zachary Community School District wrote in a statement. “We know that losing Tristan is not only difficult for his family, but for his friends, classmates, teammates, and our staff.”
The district said its high school would provide counseling for students and staff in light of Vessel’s death.
The Baton Rouge Police Department is investigating the cause of the crash.
Meanwhile, the school and swimming community are remembering the senior online.
“My heart is broken. He swam with my son for years. The ZHS Swim team is family and very close,” one mother commented on Facebook. “Tristan was an amazing athlete and person and I’m so sad for his mom. He was her whole heart. Such a major loss, the sky was the limit for him.”
Vessel’s parking spot at the high school was donned with flowers and condolences etched in chalk the day after he died, WAFB reported.
Last August, each student in Freeman’s class, including Vessel, was asked to write a letter to their future selves, Freeman said on Facebook. Her class opened Vessel’s letter to read together as they mourned him in the classroom.
“I can’t wait to see what the future may bring, but you got this. Now GO,” Vessel had written to himself.
Freeman said she and her students cried together and shared memories of Vessel.
“One student reminded us that Tristan had indeed changed the world… he changed all of our lives and we are all better people for knowing him,” Freeman wrote on Facebook. “He was always talking and connecting with other people. He did everything in his power to lift up, encourage, and inspire others.”
The high school senior was set to study neuroscience on a scholarship at the University of Texas, according to WBRZ.
Vessel started to compete in swimming at age 11 and looked forward to swimming in college, according to his personal statement published by the National Collegiate Scouting Association.
“I believe that as an Afro-Latino swimmer I have a duty and obligation to exhibit diversity and talent in this sport,” Vessel said in his statement. “I want to be a college swimmer because this sport has changed the trajectory of my life, and motivated me to succeed... I aspire to be the best student-athlete I can be.”
Zachary is about 96 miles northwest of New Orleans.
This story was originally published April 15, 2022 at 10:13 AM with the headline "17-year-old student-athlete killed in Louisiana crash. ‘He changed all of our lives’."
