A memorial for Zachary has been erected along White School Road near the scene of the accident.
Zachary Colucci was an all-American teenager, a 14-year-old who loved football, wrestling, riding quads with his big brother and playing with his Chihuahua, Maddy.
He spent Saturday playing football, enjoying his favorite meal of homemade shrimp scampi and visiting a local mall with friends.
Later that night, he, his brother and some friends decided to join in a pre-Halloween tradition of throwing corn kernels near their Unity home, his mother said.
"They were heading to a friend's house to go 'corning.' He knew not to walk along White School Road," Rebecca Colucci said Monday. The family, including father Michael Colucci, lives on nearby Limberline Drive.
Colucci said the friends were in a driveway on Sawmill Extension when the resident came home. They ran, and Zachary headed toward White School Road.
"He didn't look, I guess," she said.
A 17-year-old boy was driving south on White School Road at 10:58 p.m. when Colucci ran in front of the car, state poice said. The car struck the boy, who was thrown into a yard on the west side of the road, police said.
Colucci was taken to Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg, where he was pronounced dead.
The driver, a student at Greater Latrobe Senior High School, has not been identified. Police filed no charges against him.
"He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," said state police spokesman Trooper Stephen Limani.
A preliminary investigation showed no evidence of speeding or drug or alcohol use by the driver or anyone involved, Limani said.
The driver called 911, Rebecca Colucci said. "He's a great kid. It was not his fault, and I told him that," she said.
The school district made counselors available for students yesterday, said junior high Assistant Principal Kim Hrezo. Students wrote messages to Zachary and his family on wall-size posters, which will be delivered to the family.
"Zach was referred to as a 'gentle giant'," said Lucinda Soltys, director of pupil services.
Colucci, who was 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighed 215 pounds, probably would have been a Division I athlete, said Ray Reitz, the Wildcats' head football coach.
"He was an entirely kind young man. He reached out and helped students of all kinds," Soltys said, the kind of student to step in and help another student who was being teased. "He was a young man of exceptional character."
Limani expressed compassion for the family yesterday.
"I've heard nothing but wonderful things about everyone involved, from the driver to (Colucci)," he said.
He said his understanding is that the friends never got around to throwing corn, which "lends itself to running and hiding."
"If this prevents other people from suffering some horrible fate, maybe something good can come out of it," Limani said.
Rebecca Colucci said she had the same thought.
"He saved some lives, maybe. Don't dart out in front of cars," she said.
She smiled as she recalled her sons' and their friends' voracious appetites.
"I was blessed to have two wonderful boys. They were happy hanging out here and having me get them pizza. I would bring home two large pizzas and breadsticks. And they would say, 'Mom, is that all you got?'" she said.
Yesterday, she watched as her son Dylan, a senior varsity football player, headed off to practice.
"He needs to be with his buddies," she said.
Dylan will wear his brother's jersey during Friday's home game against Connellsville, she said. The rest of the team will wear number 77, Zachary's number, on their helmets.
"He was always smiling. I loved him. He didn't do anything wrong," Dylan said of his brother.
"It was his time. That's all you can say," Rebecca Colucci said. "God wanted our angel, our little Wildcat angel."
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the John J. Lopatich Funeral Home in Latrobe.
