Family Mourns Loss of Teen

SPRING HILL - Lori Aleo saw promise in her son.

For the longest time he was fascinated by the battles and heroes of the past, an interest he likely picked up from a mother who teaches history as a career.

But his interests had shifted recently towards getting a business degree.

Despite being a gifted child, dyslexia had hampered his schoolwork long enough that his parents had recently decided to home school him.

On Thursday night, Aleo read an article about three top CEOs who had succeeded despite their dyslexia. She set it aside to share it with her son when he came home.

But she never got that chance.

On Thursday night, 15-year-old Grant Aleo was a passenger in a car southbound on California Street along with two others, 16-year-old Megan Baily and 15-year-old Ronnie Parrott. Behind the wheel was 16-year-old Amanda Pappert.

At 8:50 p.m., Pappert ran the red light at the Powell Road intersection and her car was broadsided by another car headed east, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. An independent witness told authorities that the car on Powell had a full green light.

The impact caused Pappert's car to strike a traffic signal control box and overturn. Three people were ejected because they were not wearing seat belts, authorities said.

All four in Pappert's car were taken to Tampa General Hospital. The other car's driver, 56-year-old Mary Labarr, was treated at Brooksville Regional Hospital.

Doctors kept Grant alive long enough for his family to say goodbye. His head was badly swollen, but the rest of his body was OK.

"I was able to hold his hand ... but I could feel it getting colder," Aleo said. Doctors attempted to revive him four times. Then Aleo signed the "do not resuscitate" order.

Grant William Aleo died at 1:20 a.m.

She remembered all the times she reminded her son to wear his seat belt. He told her, "if I'm ever in an accident that bad, I don't want to survive it."

"It was comforting to me," Aleo said.

In addition to his mother, he leaves behind a father, Scott Aleo; two sisters, Kristen Hoxsie and Jordan Aleo; and a brother, Justin Aleo.

There are many Grant considered a friend, including former Springstead High School classmate, Chris Belmont.

On Friday morning, Belmont's parents woke him and told him, "Don't flip out when we tell you this." He wasn't prepared to hear that Grant was dead.

"Everyone kept a brave face for awhile," said Belmont, a lanky Kurt Cobain look-alike. "But when we got together everyone lost it and started crying."

On Friday afternoon, about eight teenagers were sitting in the shadow of Dunkin' Donuts at the intersection of Mariner Boulevard and Spring Hill Drive, known locally as The Four Corners.

They had naturally gravitated towards their favorite hangout to hold an impromptu vigil for the friend they had lost.

Belmont fed them stories of antics involving Grant spawned by the boredom of growing up in Spring Hill. They ran the gamut of homegrown experiments with firecrackers and light bulbs, getting lost in the sewer system and flaming microwaves.

Most would probably make their mothers cringe if they only knew. "There was always some crazy scheme," Belmont said with a rueful smile.

He told of Grant's obsession with the "Dawn of the Dead" movie and the emergency plan they had crafted in the event zombies invaded Spring Hill.

The Taco Bell on the corner was Grant's favorite place to eat, and he was ready to apply for job after he turned 16 on Jan. 2. He wrote "Taco" on everything.

"It's just different without him," Belmont said.

Funeral arrangements were pending Friday at Turner Funeral Homes in Spring Hill.