POST FALLS — Students and staff at Post Falls High School were in a state of shock and grief Tuesday after learning of a classmate’s death in a car crash.

Two 17-year-olds, Leo C. Neal, of Post Falls, and Monte A Thomson Jr., of Veradale, Wash., were identified by law enforcement officials Tuesday as the two teens who died in a crash on Hayden Avenue in the Post Falls area on Monday night. Neal, a junior at the school who Superintendent Jerry Keane said was a student in the district for the entirety of his education, was the passenger in the vehicle.

"This is a tragic event," Keane told The Press Tuesday afternoon. "He was a well-liked kid with a bright future that ended too early."

Keane added that the high schoolers were mature and very respectful in how they dealt with the bad news. The district's crisis team, which includes counselors and other professionals from Post Falls schools, was on hand throughout the day for students or staff who needed someone to talk to.

A "grief room" was also set up on campus allowing students and staff a quiet place to process the news, as well as leave notes of reflection to Neal.

"He was a storyteller," Keane said of what he gleaned from looking at the notes. "He was active in DECA and managed the student store. Our district family is clearly shaken. It really is just such a tragic loss."

The initial investigation at the scene by the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office indicates a 2002 Jaguar convertible was westbound on Hayden Avenue from Idaho Road around 8:45 p.m. at a high rate of speed when it left the roadway, crashing through a fence, rolling and crashing through a line of trees, striking a gas line before coming to rest.

Kootenai County Sheriff's Office personnel and Kootenai County Fire and Rescue were dispatched to the 11500 block of West Hayden Avenue, according to a news release from the sheriff's office.

The first calls into the Kootenai County 911 Center indicated the vehicle ruptured a natural gas line as well.

Once on scene, deputies and EMS personnel confirmed the gas line was ruptured and discovered the wreckage of a passenger car and two deceased males. Thomson was found at the car, while Neal had been ejected.

Investigators at the scene Tuesday morning were overheard stating that the vehicle reached speeds of more than 100 miles per hour.

Alcohol was present at the scene; however, it is not known at this time if it was a factor in the crash, according to the release. Autopsy and toxicology results, the release adds, will not be available for several weeks.

Hayden Avenue was closed for several hours while law enforcement officials investigated the scene, and the crash remains under investigation by the Kootenai County Traffic Team.

If anyone has information regarding the crash or was in the area around the time it occurred, they are urged to contact investigators at 446-1300.