Friends and teammates gathered around the mother of 17-year-old Steven W. Thompson Wednesday night to remember the Centennial High School cross-country athlete who died in a three-car crash on Idaho 55 Tuesday.

"They are having a team dinner," said Eric Taylor, a teacher and athletic trainer at Centennial. "Bless her heart, (Thompson's mother) wanted the kids around to talk about her boy."

Thompson died of massive head injuries at the scene of the crash, which happened during a summer thunderstorm. Thompson would have been a senior at Centennial this fall, said Meridian School District spokesman Eric Exline. His family could not be reached for comment.

The school's assistant cross country coach, Glenn Mabey, 42, of Meridian remained in critical condition Wednesday at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center. Hospital officials said Mabey's condition had improved slightly from Tuesday.

Austin P. Stallings, 19, of Boise, another Centennial student, was in fair to stable condition at Saint Al's Wednesday. Teammate Michael E. Dobkins, 17, of Boise was treated and released.

One of the drivers, Ryan K. Howard, 38, of Waco, Texas, was treated and released from Saint Al's. Another driver, Tiffany Ghighina, 39, of Nampa, was treated at the scene.

Idaho State Police troopers have not concluded their report but said heavy rain and water on the road were contributing factors.

Busy Idaho 55, a popular route for Treasure Valley residents heading to the mountain, is considered by some to be dangerous because of its high traffic volume. But Idaho 55 is not the state's most dangerous road, according to information from the Idaho Transportation Department.

From 2005 through 2007, 10 people died on Idaho 55 between State Street (Idaho 44) in Eagle and milepost 59, a few miles north of Horseshoe Bend in Boise County. The ages of drivers involved ranged from 21 to 85. Two of the crashes involved drugs and/or alcohol. Causes of the crashes varied as well, from losing control and crossing the middle line to road rage.

Out of 54 state highways, U.S. routes and interstates, Idaho 55 ranked as the 30th most deadly road in Idaho based on the number of vehicle miles traveled, according to data from the Idaho Transportation Department.

Idaho 37 west of Pocatello through Power and Oneida counties has the highest rate at 14.30, followed by Idaho 51 from Mountain Home south through Owyhee County at 8.75, and Idaho 78 from Marsing to Bruneau at 7.59.

According to the Idaho State Police, the accident happened at 11:50 a.m. Tuesday when Howard, driving a Dodge Durango pickup and pulling a trailer south on Idaho 55, rounded a curve and lost control. The trailer jackknifed and the vehicle went into the northbound lane, hitting a Subaru SUV driven by Mabey. Mabey and the teens were headed to an annual camp at Stanley Basin for cross-country athletes.

The pickup then bounced off the guardrail on the north side of the road and hit a Saturn minivan driven by Ghighina, who also was heading north.

Traffic in both directions on Idaho 55 was delayed for hours Tuesday as emergency crews worked to help the victims out of the wreckage and to clean up debris.

On Tuesday, news of the crash spread quickly. A large crowd of students, parents and school staff initially gathered at the hospital and grief counselors were available at the school to help anyone who needed them.

By Wednesday, the community grieving spread through text messaging and through the Web on a Facebook social networking page dedicated to Thompson called "In Loving Memory of Steven Thompson." A student posted several photos of Thompson and others left messages on the page.

Taylor, the Centennial teacher, said the students also decided to carry on together.

"The kids have decided to continue to run together at 8 a.m. every morning," Taylor said. "They started today, because they know that's what Coach Mabey expects of them and what Steven expects."

Kathleen Kreller: 377-6418Sandra Forester: 377-6464