WAUSEON Elliott Mealer, a Wauseon High School senior who has verbally committed to play football at the University of Michigan, lost his girlfriend and his father in a Christmas Eve crash.

The crash also left one of his brothers, 22-year-old Brock, in critical condition yesterday in St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center. One of Brock s lower vertebra was crushed, a family member said.

Elliott, 18, and his mother, Shelly Mealer, 47, were treated for minor injuries at Fulton County Health Center.

Killed were David Mealer, 50, and Hollis Richer, 17.

Mr. Mealer was a project inspector with the Ohio Department of Transportation.

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Miss Richer, a Wauseon High School senior, had been dating Elliott for about two years.

The eldest Mealer brother, Blake, tried to make sense of the deaths and injuries yesterday.

You ve got to trust it s what God wanted and there s a reason for everything, Blake said. You just have to have faith.

Michigan s head football coach, Lloyd Carr, said he learned of the crash on Christmas. It s difficult for all of us, said Mr. Carr, who will retire after this season. It s a horrible thing.

We re trying to reach him… he s got a lot of hard things to deal with here, and we ll try to help him.

Blake said it was difficult for his little brother, an offensive lineman who had been an Ohio State fan his entire life, to make the decision to play football at Michigan. He looked to God for an answer.

He ll use that same faith to get through the loss of his father and girlfriend, Blake said.

When he decided to go to [Michigan], he said he was going to go where God wanted him to go, he said. Right now, it s the same way.

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For the last three years on Christmas Eve, the Mealer family celebrated the holiday with relatives in Williams County s Stryker before heading to church back home in Wauseon.

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This year, the Mealers never made it to church.

Their Mercedes ML sport utility vehicle collided with a car that had run a stop sign on Fulton County Road 19 at State Rt. 2.

The impact of the 9:35 p.m. collision caused the Mercedes to flip, go off the south side of the road, and land on its roof. Mr. Mealer and Miss Richer were thrown out of the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene, troopers said.

No one in the Mealer vehicle was wearing a seat belt, and Sgt. Scott Wickhouse of the Toledo post said lives could have been spared if they had. They probably would have been injured but would still be alive, he said.

The driver of the car that ran the stop sign, H. Edward Johnson, 90, was treated at the Fulton County Health Center. The crash remains under investigation, troopers said yesterday.

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Neal Graf, who lives near the Mealers and has known Miss Richer s father, Freddie, for many years, said both families are well-known in Wauseon.

He said that up to 100 people were at the hospital Christmas Eve. It just shows how Wauseon is, Mr. Graf said. Everybody supports each other.

The flow of family, friends, classmates, and teammates has continued at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center, where Brock is hospitalized.

That is helping, said Blake, who was on his way to Findlay with his fiancee when the crash occurred.

Marc Robinson, superintendent of Wauseon Exempted Village Schools, said the boys and girls basketball teams gathered yesterday at the high school, where grief counselors were available.

Elliott plays basketball for the Indians, and Blake is an assistant coach.

Miss Richer played basketball through her junior year, but Mr. Robinson said she didn t participate this year so she could focus on academics.

Both Wauseon basketball teams canceled appearances tonight in holiday tournaments, Mr. Robinson said.

Visitation for Miss Richer will be from 2 to 8 p.m. tomorrow in Sara s Garden Hope Center, Wauseon.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Wauseon High School gymnasium.

Edgar-Grisier Funeral Home, Wauseon, is handling arrangements for both Miss Richer and Mr. Mealer.

Visitation for Mr. Mealer is from 2-8 p.m. Saturday in the funeral home.

Services for him are at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Oasis Christian Fellowship, Wauseon.

Staff writer Zach Silka contributed to this report.

Contact Laren Weber at: lweber@theblade.com or 419-724-6050.

David Paul Mealer