GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The teenage boy killed in a crash on US-131 Wednesday evening is a son of two Grand Rapids-area doctors who was about to start school at West Michigan Aviation Academy.
Andy Larson, 14, died after the van he was riding in was rear-ended at a high speed on US-131 near West River Drive in Plainfield Township north of Grand Rapids. Several others were injured, but are expected to recover.
West Michigan Aviation Academy CEO Pat Cwayna said he learned of the loss in an early morning phone call. He had to tell his staff Thursday morning.
"It was stunning to them,” Cwayna said. "It was a heavy day.”
While the school year hadn’t started yet, Andy had been involved in orientation activities and was beginning to get to know his classmates.
"He just had the best two weeks getting acclimated to school,” Cwayna said. "This young man just was so excited to begin school next week.”
Andy was set to play on the school's junior varsity soccer team.
“He had just made the first team he’s ever made,” Cwayna said.
Cwayna said the school made counselors available to the group of classmates who were attending orientation with Andy.
While Andy was to be a new student at the high school, the staff and students know the family because his sister is also a student at the school. She is going into her junior year.
Andy's father is Dr. Eric Larson, an anesthesiologist at Spectrum Health hospitals, his webpage says. His mother is Dr. Marcy Larson, a pediatrician at Forest Hills Pediatrics, the company website says.