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Lunenburg crash kills 18-year-old football player

Heather Hunt, 18, of Lunenburg sat on the hood of a car with her head in her hands across the street from a makeshift memorial for Austin Robbins.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
The crash killed 18-year-old Austin “AJ” Robbins. Handout

LUNENBURG — Friends and family mourned Sunday afternoon after a fatal car crash forever altered the lives of three teenage best friends, leaving one dead, one injured, and a third facing charges of drunken driving.

The crash killed 18-year-old Austin “AJ” Robbins, a well-known football player and recent high school graduate whom friends described as a gregarious teen with a contagious laugh. Robbins, who lived in Lunenburg, graduated this spring from the town’s public high school, where he played on the school’s football team.

“AJ had an infectious personality and a smile that could light up the room,” said Brian Spadafino, the school’s principal, in a statement.

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Robbins’s mother, Carol, said the three teenagers, who had known each other for about 10 years, were visiting friends the night of the crash. The teens’ car veered off the narrow road and hit a tree while they were driving down a steep hill in Lunenburg.

Carol Robbins said her son died instantly from a chest injury. He had not been wearing a seat belt, she said.

Robbins “was a beautiful person,” his mother said. “He is a beautiful person.”

In a statement from Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr., he said the crash remains under investigation by Lunenburg police, who referred all questions to Early’s office, and the State Police, who released no further information.

Robbins’s friend who was driving the car, Joseph Kapp of Gardner, is expected to be in a courtroom Monday to face charges of vehicular homicide and operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, Early’s office said. Kapp, who authorities said was not injured in the crash, is being held on $10,000 bail and is due to be arraigned in Fitchburg District Court.

The one-car crash, which occurred around 3:15 a.m. Saturday on Hollis Road, also sent another passenger, Sean McNiff, 19, to the hospital for minor injuries to his elbow.

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Later on Sunday, McNiff took to social media to share a photo of his “best friends,” which included Kapp and Robbins.

“I love all you guys,” McNiff posted, using a picture he posted for “National Best Friends Day.”

At the crash site Sunday afternoon, mourners gathered next to a growing memorial with flowers and star-shaped blue and white balloons. By late Sunday evening, a football, jersey, trophy, and helmet had been placed at the memorial.

Robbins played defense in football and was a linebacker during his senior year. His two younger brothers, ages 12 and 14, also play football. His mother said Robbins was born into a football family and lived in a town that loved the sport.

“He was passionate about football and cared deeply for his teammates and coaches,” Spadafino, the principal, said in the statement. “AJ had a big heart and a beautiful spirit. He will be missed by his classmates, friends, and the faculty and staff of the Lunenburg Public Schools. Our deepest sympathies go out to the Robbins family.”

Near the memorial, a guidance counselor from Lunenburg High School sat with a group of young women, who were later joined by Lunenburg Police Chief James Marino and his wife.

Marino said his son went to school with Robbins.

“It’s all so close,” he said. “Everything is so close in this small town.”

Robbins’s mother, aunt, and family friends described him as outgoing, laid-back, and happy, with a strong sense of humor.

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Marie Tsacogianis, a family friend of the Robbinses’, said everyone in the family was warm and they were all well-liked.

“It’s not fair,” Tsacogianis said during a short phone interview. “It’s just not fair. He had a whole life ahead of him.”

On social media, former classmates and Lunenburg residents shared memories of Robbins using the hashtag #RIPAJ. Many of the photos and videos showed Robbins laughing with friends, making funny faces, or engaging intensely about his sport of choice: football.

Classmates planned to hold a vigil on the town’s football field Sunday evening. On an online fund-raising page for the Robbins family, more than $12,000 had been donated from nearly 150 people as of Sunday afternoon.

The outpouring of support is indicative of Robbins’s personality, his mother said.

“He was all about his friends,” Carol Robbins said. “That’s why he’s got so many. He’d have kids come in [to the house], and they would leave, and another shift would come through.”

In the wake of the news, Lunenburg High School’s football team canceled an upcoming scrimmage against Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School, which Robbins had also attended and played football for, his mother said.

On Twitter, several of Lunenburg’s current football players said they intended to dedicate the upcoming season to Robbins’s memory.

“Football is a brotherhood,” one player wrote. “This year is for AJ.”


Nicole Fleming can be reached at nicole.fleming@globe.com. Astead W. Herndon can be reached atastead.herndon@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @AsteadWH.

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