Benton Page

A great sense of humor, a love of baseball, friendly, helpful, kind – that’s how people describe Richard Benton Page, 18, of Bowling Green, who was one of two people killed Wednesday in a wreck on Cemetery Road.

Page was driving a 2003 four-door Chevrolet sedan west on Cemetery Road when he failed to negotiate a curve at 7:05 a.m. The car left the right side of the road, struck a tree and burst into flames. A nearby resident extinguished the fire, which was contained to the engine compartment of the car.

Page’s cousin, William “Will” Mallory, 19, of La Center, was the only passenger in the car. Both young men died at the scene.

Will Porter, 18, graduated from Bowling Green High School with Page in May, and the two were close friends.

“There was not one person that I know that did not like Benton. That’s why it sucks so bad. Everybody liked him. He was a very good spirit, life of the party,” Porter said. “He was really funny. He had a great sense of humor.”

Jon Spencer, 18, another classmate, played on the high school baseball team with Page.

“Benton was a great man,” Spencer said. “There’s not a better friend I could have asked for. He was always willing to do something for somebody. If you needed him or wanted to do something with him, he would never try to put you off.

“It still hasn’t sunk in yet,” Spencer said. “Everybody’s still in shock.”

BGHS school officials anticipate a somber return to school today for students and staff, many of whom knew Page.

“When kids walk out the door, they have their whole life to look forward to,” Principal Gary Fields said. “Ben was one of those kids.”

Extra counselors will be at the school today, and former students are invited to return to the school to grieve with one another and speak to counselors. When Fields announced the news Wednesday, several faculty and staff members took it hard.

“Everybody’s excited about a new school year (today), and then they have that kick in the gut of losing a kid who had everything ahead of him,” he said.

When Fields thinks of Page, he remembers “one of the nicest guys that I’ve worked with out here in a long time.”

He was a quiet, humble kid with a great sense of humor. He was very polite and always said hello – qualities that most people exhibit when they’re older, but Page was an exemplary teenager, Fields said.

Page and his family are deeply rooted in Bowling Green, and the teenager was very connected to his community, Fields said.

“He was a Bowling Green kid,” he said. “He was a Purple through and through. I think this city, this community, meant so much to him.”

Page filled several roles on the high school baseball team. He was primarily a designated hitter, but he also played first base and pitched. He had played baseball since he was little, starting in Little League, coach Dan Mosier said.

He was “the best person that you could ever hope for. He was an outstanding young man who was a great teammate, a great friend and was one of those kids you loved to coach,” Mosier said.

The seniors on last year’s team were a tight-knit group, “so it’s going to be a very tough situation for everybody involved,” he said.

“He was a great baseball player,” said Chandler Sears, 18, who was one of Page’s teammates.

“He is going to be missed deeply by anybody that ever met him,” Sears said.

Page is the son of Amy and Henry Page.

J.C. Kirby & Son Funeral Home, Lovers Lane chapel, is overseeing Page’s funeral.

Mallory is the son of WPSD news anchor Mike Mallory and his wife, Jenny. WPSD is the NBC affiliate station in Paducah.

“It’s a devastating loss for them,” said Mallory family friend Bill Evans, who is vice president of news and operations at WPSD.

Mallory was enrolled in the honors program at the University of Kentucky, Evans said. Prior to college, he played high school basketball and football for Ballard Memorial High School in Ballard County.

“He was more than just a star athlete,” Evans said. “He was sensitive and smart.”

“He had this great big smile,” Evans said. “He was such a natural leader.”

Mallory was the oldest of three boys. His younger brother, Alex, will play football for Western Kentucky University in the fall.

Morrow Funeral Chapel in La Center is overseeing final arrangements for Mallory.