High schoolers grieving loss of two friends, find comfort from unlikely source

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - A Brentwood yard has turned into a memorial of sorts after two teens died in a fiery crash there over the weekend. People who are grieving the loss are now finding comfort from an unlikely source.

For a group of Brentwood High School students, standing on a patch of dirt in Leah and Garrett Lund’s front yard Monday morning was not what they wanted to do, it’s what they had to do.

“We ended up coming here during lunch so we could all pay our respects here and we plan on building a memorial and everything,” says Addi Beasley.

“The first couple days I was just in shock and I couldn’t really feel anything,” says Brentwood High student Liam Stengel. “But last night and today it hit me. I’ve been crying a lot and I really don’t cry.”

Brentwood Police say 19-year-old Joshua Chin-Curlee and a 14-year-old died in a car fire after it crashed into a tree. It happened near Brentmeade Boulevard and Jones Parkway in the Lund’s front yard.

“It was very difficult to witness,” says Leah Lund. “I saw a fire and then that registers and it’s a bit overwhelming and then I’m like ‘Oh my gosh it’s my house!’”

It’s a house where strangers have come since Saturday to mourn, and the Lund’s want to be there for them.

“We don’t have any connection to the family beside it happening on our property,” says Garrett Lund. “But we feel the empathy and the emotion like it was someone we really knew or family.”

The Lund’s front yard isn’t what it looked like before. Trees are marked up, police tape is wrapped up, and a memorial was put up. But the Lund’s are OK with that. They know their land is sacred for those grieving.

“Anyone who comes, friends or family, if they need a shoulder to cry on, or just listen, or hold their hand, I am here,” says Leah Lund. “Knock on my door please, I would love to come out and pray with you.”

And for the Brentwood High students who came by on Monday, that’s exactly what they needed.

“It was very wonderful that she came out here is supporting everyone,” says Beasley. “We were not expecting that at all. Very nice of her to do that.”

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