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By KASIA KOPEC kkopec@leader.net
Monday, March 03, 2003     Page: 8A

For the Record: 3/5/03 Due to incorrect information supplied by Forty Fort
police, the legal guardian of Nick Sharpe, a GAR High School student involved
in an accident on wyoming Avenue Saturday night was misidentified. Sharpe’s
mother, Tina, is his legal guardian.
   

    FORTY FORT – Two GAR High School basketball players and a third teen are
facing charges after a one-vehicle accident on Wyoming Avenue on Saturday
night.
   
Howard Mapp, 17, and Nick Sharpe, 16, who are starters with the Grenadiers,
and Kevin Williams, 18, will be charged with underage drinking. Mapp, who was
driving the Ford Explorer involved in the crash, will also be charged with
driving under the influence and related traffic violations, said officer Brian
Eovitch.
   
The crash occurred at 10:45 p.m. near the intersection with Dennison
Street. Witnesses told police the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of
speed prior to its collision with a light pole and fire hydrant. After the
impact with the fire hydrant, the teens’ SUV slid 250 feet before coming to a
rest.
   
Williams was transported to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, where he was
treated and released Saturday night.
   
Sharpe fled the scene on foot, and as of Sunday, Eovitch, whose shift began
at 11 p.m., said he had not heard from the teen or the teen’s sister, who is
his legal guardian.
   
“I talked to her about one this (Sunday) morning and she hadn’t heard from
him yet,” said Eovitch. `
   
Wilkes-Barre Area School District Superintendent Jeff Namey said Sunday
night he had only just learned of the incident and did not know any details.
But Namey said the district’s rules regarding students using alcohol apply
only when students are at school-sponsored functions or on school property.
   
“We ran into problems with the courts a few years ago when we tried to
expand our policy to cover incidents that happen outside of school,” said
Namey. “But if any laws were broken, the students would certainly be subject
to any repercussions stemming from that.”
   
Sharpe scored 15 points to lead GAR to a 72-64 win over Northwest in the
District 2 Class 2A title game Friday night. The Grenadiers are scheduled to
meet York Catholic in the first round of the state playoffs on Saturday.
   
GAR Coach Paul Brown did not return several calls to his home Sunday night
and the school’s athletic director, John Rowlands, declined to comment on the
incident except to say he had been informed by the coach that players were
involved.
   
Kasia Kopec, a Times Leader staff writer, can be reached at 970-7436.