Tragic Accident
Kills 13-Year-Old
By Sandy Vondrasek Cooch

A 13-year-old Braintree boy known for his upbeat attitude, near constant smile, and willingness to throw himself 100% into whatever it was he was doing was mourned by hundreds of people this week, in funeral services and remembrance ceremonies at local schools.

Nathan E. Allard was killed just before 1 p.m. Friday, in a single-vehicle accident on Braintree Hill Road.

State police said this week that Allard was ejected from the 1997 Mazda pickup he was riding in, after the driver, his 17-year-old brother Zack, lost control of the vehicle. Neither of the boys had been using their seltbelts.

Witnesses said Zack ran to a nearby residence to ask that 911 be called and then ran back to the accident scene and his brother.

In her release on the accident, Sr. Tpr. Barbara Zonay indicated that the younger boy had been pinned under the vehicle, which rolled once. Allard was pronounced dead on scene by EMTs from the responding ambulance service.

Trp. Zonay said yesterday that her investigation into the crash continues, and that the exact cause of the accident has not been determined. She said she could not confirm reports, widely circulated in town, that a dog in the cab of the truck caused the driver to lose control.

The crash occurred just a mile or two from the boys’ home. Zack, a senior at Randolph Union High School, and Nathan, a seventh grader there, had received permission to leave school early, according RUHS Asst. Principal David Barnett. They had just headed out on a road trip to visit their mother in Connecticut.

Remembrances of Nathan Allard, offered by several people, indicated that he was a remarkably upbeat young man, with a stand-out personality—"charismatic," said his principal of seven years. However, sainthood was not invoked: The young teen, they said, was also a normal boy, who could get into some trouble with the rest of them.

A Committed Player

Braintree Elementary School Principal Nancy Frenette remembered Allard for his willingness to participate in anything, full tilt.

"He came to school ready to go. He had a positive outlook, a positive attitude," Frenette said.

"He felt a part of the Braintree School community," she continued. "You could say that to some kids, but they don’t understand it’s up to them. He knew that."

Allard was not afraid to throw himself into school products and productions, when others might hang back, Frenette added.

If it was his class’s turn to lead the monthly "all-school assembly," she noted, you could count on Allard "to know all of the words of the song, jiving to the beat, getting right into it."

Frenette also offered an anecdote from art teacher Candy VandeGriek, who this week recalled the time Allard’s class made ceramic medallions. After they were glazed and fired, VandeGriek strung each with yarn and handed them out.

Nathan Allard, she said, was the only boy in the class to put his on—and he wore it proudly.

"He wasn’t afraid to be different. If he liked it, and no one else did, he didn’t care," Frenette said. "His attitude was contagious."

"There are very few children who have charisma, and he did," Frenette said. "He was charismatic to the max, he really was."

Frenette also recalled Nathan’s willingness to "help anyone anytime," a trait also remembered by long-time school custodian Van Coleman.

Braintree’s a small school, and the custodian there gets to know everyone pretty well.

And since Nathan "shared the same name as my son, I took him under my wing," Coleman said this week.

And since Braintree is a small, close-knit school, the custodian also leads a "special activity" during the month of May, along with the rest of the staff.

Coleman did bowling, and Nathan signed up that activity for three years in a row. Not only that, Nathan was invited to join an adult bowling team otherwise comprised of school staff: Coleman, Linda Lubold, Nancy and Steve Frenette, and Nathan’s step-mother Vicci Nelson.

"We had a lot of good times with him," Coleman said.

"The main thing I found," said Coleman, "was he was very polite. He always addressed people in an appropriate way.

"He was no different than other boys, and there were times he got into a little mischief, but basically, he was a good kid," Coleman said.

On Monday morning, at the same time that Braintree Elementary School was holding a special assembly with students, staff at Randolph Union High School gathered students 7-12 to talk about Friday’s fatal accident, which involved not one but two students.

Principal Holmes gave a brief synopsis of the accident, talked about the various forms that grieving can take, and urged students not to judge others.

Zack Allard was in school for the day’s events, which included a remembrance ceremony held at the end of the school day, according to RUHS Asst. Principal David Barnett.

Students have been supportive of Zack, he indicated, and the 17-year-old appeared to benefit from being there, surrounded by those he knows, and who know him.

As a seventh grader, Nathan Allard was just five weeks into his RUHS experience, and Asst. Principal Barnett, who is charge of the middle school, is in his first year at the school.

But the two had already forged quite a bond.

"There are middle school issues that arise and students need some kind of support, someone to talk to," Barnett said this week.

Nathan, Barnett said, "had a little issue."

"What was memorable to me was how thankful he was. He was more thankful to me, really, than I deserved," Barnett said. "It was a minor incident, and for days afterward, he was all over himself thanking me."

The young teen’s appreciative ways and his other characteristics were honored Monday, at an end-of-the-day school ceremony for junior high kids.

Barnett said he opened the event by noting that "the real power of remembrance is to think of those attributes of someone, and you try to emulate them."

For his part, Barnett, told the students, he was going to do a better job of thanking those who had helped him.

Then students had a chance to write down and share, if they wished, the characteristics they treasured.

Later those papers were taken to a fire, and each student stepped forward to drop a message in, "to send to Nathan."

Nathan’s brother Zack was there, and released a clutch of balloons into the air, Barnett said.

The ceremony was the brainchild of health teacher Deb Lary, who showed an "I-movie," featuring still shots of dozens of RUHS students, all smiling. It was a production that Lary had been preparing for an another event, and modified for Monday.

The "movie" ended with "a large group picture, with Nathan in the middle, with big smile," Barnett said.

Lary zoomed in on the teen and his trademark smile, and then afterwards, on the screen, came the words: "We are all smiling for you, Nathan."

An obituary for Allard appears in the B-section of this week’s Herald.