Two 17-year-old boys died Monday night in a high-speed crash near Post Falls. The driver of the vehicle has been identified as Monte Thomson Jr. of Veradale. The passenger was identified as Leo Neal of Post Falls, a news release from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said.

An initial investigation shows the boys were speeding in a 2002 Jaguar convertible west on Hayden Avenue from Idaho Road around 8:45 p.m. The car left the road, crashed through a fence, rolled and smashed through a line of trees, hitting and rupturing a natural gas line before stopping. Alcohol was present at the scene on the 11500 block of West Hayden Avenue, but investigators do not know yet whether it was a factor in the crash. Autopsy and toxicology results won’t be available for several weeks, the release said.

Thomson was a junior at Central Valley High School in Spokane Valley and was taking college courses at Spokane Community College. He also worked at Quality Canopy Construction in Post Falls, and he took part in junior varsity soccer last school year. Because Thomson was in the Running Start program, he spent most of the school day at SCC and was at Central Valley for a math class the last period of the day, Principal Mike Hittle said. Neal attended Post Falls High School.

Both schools brought in crisis response teams with grief counselors Tuesday to help students and staff members. Teachers at Central Valley read an announcement of Thomson’s death to all classes at the start of the day, Hittle said. Counselors then met with some students in the school library to help them process the news and work through their grief, he said. Three chaplains from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department also came to the school Tuesday to provide additional support. School officials talk with students about safe driving habits this time of year. “With prom and graduation, we’re always reminding the students about being safe,” Hittle said/Scott Maben, SR.