Published May 22. 2018 07:56AM
MERCERSBURG, Pa. (AP) — It was supposed to be Carter Brown putting on the corsage and doing funny poses in photos with his date for senior prom.
His father instead took his place, one month after the Pennsylvania teen died in a car crash.
Robert Brown took Kaylee Suders to the James Buchanan High School event Saturday, because he said he knew his son would've still wanted Suders to go to the prom.
Carter Brown was heading home from Indiana State University April 15 to surprise Suders when his car crossed into the opposite lane and was struck head on. The 19-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.
Suders said she didn't want to attend prom after Carter's death, but changed her mind when his father asked to accompany her.
"I didn't have to think about it," she told the Centre Daily Times. "I definitely said 'yes."
The pair celebrated the event with a dinner beforehand at the same T.G.I. Friday's where Suders and Carter went on their first date.
Brown's wife, Kelly, said the whole experience speaks to how much Suders is still part of the family
In this Saturday, May 19, 2018, photo provided by Kelly Brown, James Buchanan High School senior Kaylee Suders and Robert Brown pose for a photo at Green Grove Gardens in Greencastle, Pa. Brown, a Pennsylvania man whose son died a month before the senior prom, escorted Suders, his late son's date to the dance Saturday. Robert Brown says he knew his son would've still wanted Suders to go to the prom. Suders says she didn't want to attend after Carter's death but changed her mind when his father asked to accompany her instead. (Kelly Brown via AP)
In this Saturday, May 19, 2018, photo provided by Kelly Brown, James Buchanan High School senior Kaylee Suders looks at a picture of her kissing her boyfriend Carter Brown, who died in a car wreck last month, as she was posing for photos with Carter's father Robert Brown at Green Grove Gardens in Greencastle, Pa. Robert Brown, a Pennsylvania man whose son died a month before the senior prom, escorted Suders, his late son's date to the dance Saturday. Robert Brown says he knew his son would've still wanted Suders to go to the prom. Suders says she didn't want to attend after Carter's death but changed her mind when his father asked to accompany her instead. (Kelly Brown via AP)