Students and teachers at Mary Persons High School in Monroe County are mourning one of their own Tuesday. 18-year-old William Dustin Fischer, also known as Dusty, was killed in a car wreck Sunday. Claire Davis spoke with several students and one teacher who say they'll remember Fischer as someone very special.
Along Highway 42 South in Monroe County, if you look closely, you'll see a cross on the side of the road, dedicated to 18-year-old Dusty Fischer.
16-year-old Chace Rowe says he was Fischer's best friend. “We would always go to Macon and we'd always be on like a quarter of gas. We'd always try to go and get to Macon and then come back home, we'd have a really good time at night. I really feel like it's just a dream playing over and over,” he said. “He'd do anything for anybody. I mean, he'd take anybody anywhere. Anything anybody wanted to do, he was always a people-pleaser,” said Rowe.
Fischer was killed in a car wreck Sunday. Monroe County Sheriff's Office Lieutenant Brad Freeman says Fischer was a passenger in 18-year-old Michael Austin's car. They were driving on Highway 42 South when the car left the roadway, hit a ditch, went airborne, hitting several trees. Fischer died at the scene.
Senior Olivia Jernigan says he had a personality no one could forget. “We got closer this year. We had 7th period together and we would always cut up. It was a great time,” she said. “He loved to go mudding and fly his rebel flag. He was not ashamed to tell anybody who he was,” said Jernigan.
One of his teachers, Marcy Sanders, says he excelled academically. “He was a straight 'A' student, always completed his work on time, and was just a great asset to the class,” said Sanders.
Rowe says even though he’s gone, he hopes his friend knows one thing. “I just hope he knows we all miss him and love him. It just, it's hard,” said Rowe.
Freeman says two other teenagers were also in Austin's car. 17-year-old Robert King and 18-year-old Troy Ponder were taken to the hospital. Freeman says it's too early to tell what caused the crash.