Classmates remember teens killed by carbon monoxide

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Students at a Hillsborough County high school are mourning the loss of two classmates.

Emily Sabow, 14, and Dorian Gomez Poehlmann, 17, were found dead Monday morning. Police say the teens parked the SUV inside a detached garage in St. Pete's Country Club Villas community, with the garage door closed and engine running.

St. Pete Police are calling this "strictly accidental."

Both Sabow and Gomez Poehlmann were students at East Bay High School in Riverview.

Monday night, students held a vigil and balloon release in memory of the students who, sadly, won't be returning with them after Christmas break: A beautiful freshman who friends say had a talent for doing makeup, and a senior boy with a big laugh and a passion for baseball.

White balloons floated in the dark night sky. The sight of them rising brought at least some comfort to the hurting high school students.

"I couldn't... I couldn't get out of bed," said Matthew Vivirito, a friend of Dorian's. "He was a guy that everybody liked. He made everyone laugh. You couldn't not like Dorian. Dorian is somebody that was very big in everyone's lives."

Dorian's mother told police her son left Sunday afternoon to pick up Emily, his girlfriend. When she didn't hear from them, she reported them missing, not realizing they'd already parked in her detached garage.

"Because of a garage door opener, they couldn't get the door up, but they didn't believe the kids were there," said St. Pete Police Assistant Chief Jim Previtera.

It wasn't until Monday morning that their bodies were found unresponsive.

"It's an accident. It's a tragedy," said Previtera. "There are not a lot of words and certainly for everyone out here today, the emotion is not lost on us. It's sad."

"It's really tragic to happen this time of year," said neighbor Pia Jordan. "We have a real example here in our community of how carbon monoxide is a killer."

Students hugged and prayed on the quiet beach for an hour. Out of the silence came a tearful voice saying, "love thy neighbor, because you never know when their last day will be."

"Don't take anything for granted. You have really close people all around. You don't expect to lose them right away," Vivirito said.

There will be a vigil held Wednesday night at 6:30 outside East Bay High School for students, staff, families and anyone who wants to remember these two teens.