In grade school, the backyard of the Young-Foote family home on Greeley Boulevard in Springfield was filled with bike ramps for their son Adam. As years passed, it became a camping spot for Adam and his friends, who would run an extension cord out to their tents so that they could play Sony PlayStation games.
"He was an awesome guy," said Emily Tomlinson, one of Foote's classmates and a neighbor. "He was my best guy friend."
Foote, 17, a senior at West Springfield High, was killed in an automobile crash on Tuesday, March 22. The car he was riding in on Old Keene Mill Road collided with a Ford truck that was turning to head south on Huntsman Boulevard. Foote was taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital, but died late at night on the March 22.
Fairfax County Police investigators said an excessive rate of speed was a factor in the crash, but no charges have been filed against the driver of the car, also a 17-year old student.
A memorial service for Foote took place on Friday, March 25, at Kirkwood Presbyterian Church in Springfield. The church was full, according Foote's parents.
"They had never seen it stretched so much," said Foote's mother Jennifer Young-Foote.
Prior to that service, friends of Foote's conducted a memorial of their own, as several of them planted a small cross at the intersection of Huntsman Boulevard and Old Keene Mill Road. They hung a banner with the message "We Love You Adam."
OVER 75 STUDENTS, parents, and teachers congregated Wednesday night, and the memorial grew to include photos, ribbons, and other handmade signs.
"I guess it was just a domino effect, and a lot of people ended up showing up," said Tomlinson of the vigil. "I can't think of anyone who didn't like him."
Domino's Pizza in Burke, where Foote worked, even sent over pizzas to those who had gathered.
Friends remembered Foote as a fun-loving, adventurous boy who loved the outdoors. He moved to Springfield with his family when he was in third grade, and attended West Springfield Elementary School and Irving Middle School. He was actively involved in the Boy Scouts, and in the summer of 2002 attended the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch in New Mexico. Located in the Sangre Cristo region of the Rocky Mountains, the camp provides Boy Scouts the challenge of a 10-day, 90-mile hike as part of their experience. It was one that changed Foote's life.
"We sent a boy and got back a man. He came back different," said Young-Foote of Adam's experiences at Philmont. He also enjoyed snowboarding and the anything to do with the beach, "Sleeping on the beach, surfing at the beach, horseshoes at the beach," said Young-Foote.
Part of the reason Adam was so well-liked, said Tomlinson, was his desire to share with others. She recalled an incident when Adam first started school at West Springfield Elementary. Students were taking part in a toy auction using points they had earned for good behavior. Tomlinson said she had her eye on a silver bell with a red bow on it, but Adam outbid her for it.
"The day before winter break, I came to school and there was a present wrapped up on my desk. I opened it and there was that silver bell," said Tomlinson. "He was definitely looking out for us."
Foote had planned on enrolling in Pennsylvania College for Technology in the fall, where he hoped to study business. He was an organ donor, and Young-Foote said his liver was transplanted into a waiting recipient shortly after he died. As a memorial, she said the family wishes donations be sent to Washington Regional Transplant Consortium, 8110 Gatehouse Road, Suite 101W, Falls Church, VA 22042.