Churchill senior dies in crash

Brenton Everson was hoping to major in business in college next fall

The crash site, just over a mile from the Potomac neighborhood where both boys lived, transformed overnight into an impromptu memorial for Everson, a Winston Churchill High School senior. Flowers, candles and a cardboard sign reading ‘‘Always Remember Brenton” now fill the space between the broken panels.

Police say the crash occurred just before 2:30 a.m., when McManus lost control of a 2007 blue Mazda, crossed the centerline and hit the fence, curbs, a utility shed and a tree. Everson was not wearing a seatbelt.

The boys, according to family, were returning home from a trip to CVS in the Cabin John shopping center. Cheryl Everson-Mack, Everson’s mother, said that Everson often drove around the neighborhood with his friends. Usually, he was the driver. Everson’s car got a flat tire the day before the crash, Everson-Mack said.

Police say there was no evidence that alcohol was a factor. The crash is still under investigation.

Both boys were transported to Suburban Hospital where Everson was pronounced dead. McManus, known to friends and family as Drew, was released and is home recovering from his injuries.

‘‘His injuries are not life threatening, but he’s pretty banged up from the crash,” said Richard McManus, the boy’s father. ‘‘We are thankful to God that our son Drew survived, but our thoughts and prayers are with the Eversons right now. We are sickened at the loss of life.”

Everson is being remembered as an athlete, a music fan, an appreciator of good fashion style and a loyal friend, according to family.

‘‘Friends were the most important thing to Brenton,” said his stepfather, Geoffrey Mack. ‘‘What was not important to him was what you looked like.”

Tuesday, Everson’s room at his Trailridge Drive home was a tribute to his varied interests, which included playing junior varsity football at Churchill and basketball with the Montgomery County Recreation League and volunteering for several local organizations.

Shoes in every color lined the space beside his bed, and inside the closet, T-shirts were neatly organized from light colors to dark colors. Skateboarding, basketball and movie posters lined the walls. A Les Paul guitar was perched in the corner, which he used for guitar lessons at Churchill. He loved to play Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley, according to family.

‘‘You would think four kids lived in this room,” Mack said.

Everson’s father, Louis Everson, died of colon cancer when he was 4, his mother said. ‘‘As a little boy, he always thought of himself as the man of the house,” she said.

Everson had an older sister, Brittani Everson, a junior at Smith College in Massachusetts, and a stepbrother, Jelani Mack, a seventh-grader at Hoover Middle School.

Everson was popular at Churchill, she said, and many of his friends, including McManus, live close by.

At Churchill, grief counselors were made available for all students. Monday night, an impromptu candlelight vigil was held in Everson’s honor at the crash site.

Everson, who was hoping to major in business at a Maryland college, was set to graduate this year. A funeral is planned for Saturday at the Zion Baptist Church in Washington.

‘‘He was fun loving, energetic and athletic,” Everson-Mack said. ‘‘But his favorite pastime was hanging with his friends.”