In the space of just 20 hours, three Western New York teenagers have lost their lives in car accidents.

The tragedies began at about 1:40 a. m. Tuesday, when Amber Graf, 18, and Sarah Breslin, 19, both of Clarence, were killed after Graf, who was at the wheel, apparently missed a sharp curve in a Newstead road, struck an embankment and flipped up against a telephone pole. Investigators said speed may have been a factor in the accident.

Then at about 9:40 p. m. the same day, Kristina Moley, 19, of Wilson died in another one-car crash, this time in North Tonawanda. The driver, Ryan Lacey, 21, of Lockport missed a curve, sending the car slamming into a tree.

Lacey, who was treated for injuries in Erie County Medical Center, has been charged with driving while intoxicated, and more charges could be pending.

“I wish kids would just realize that they’re not invincible,“ said Cheektowaga Lt. James Speyer, a veteran traffic investigator.

More than 5,000 teenagers die every year in the U. S. due to injuries from car accidents, according to Sen. Charles E. Schumer’s office. In New York State, 236 teens died in 2007 from car accidents.

At a news conference Wednesday that had been scheduled a week earlier but made all the more urgent because of the three deaths in Western New York,

Schumer announced legislation that would expand driver education beyond the date that teens obtain their licenses. The classes would not be required but would be a resource for parents, teachers and teenagers.

The three deaths also come just after the State Senate passed legislation aimed at new teenage drivers, including requiring more training time behind the wheel and reducing the number of other young passengers in their cars.

Speyer was not involved in the investigations of either the North Tonawanda or Newstead accidents. But just last week, he handled an accident investigation involving a 21-year-old man with two young passengers who lost control of his car and wound up crashing almost all the way into a house.

Investigators believe the driver was speeding when he lost control, although the driver contends that he was swerving to avoid a deer.

“That was very, very close to being a fatality,” Speyer said. “That could have been a triple fatality.”

Speyer knows how hard it is to persuade young people to drive carefully. “If you’re going too fast or you’re drinking or you’re texting or on the phone, it influences the way you drive,” he said. “And it’s just tough to convince kids that it’s important and the consequences are grave.”

Wednesday, North Tonawanda police were trying to reconstruct the accident that led to Moley’s death.

Police said Lacey, Moley’s boyfriend, was heading east on Ruie Road when the road curved to the left and he went straight. The car slammed into a tree on the side of the road.

Moley, who was wearing a seat belt, had to be extricated from the vehicle. She was pronounced dead in DeGraff Memorial Hospital.

Lacey suffered multiple, nonlife-threatening injuries and was treated in ECMC. His arraignment had been set for today in North Tonawanda City Court but was postponed because of his injuries.

There have been some reports that they had come from a bar prior to the crash, but North Tonawanda police Lt. Thomas Krantz told The Buffalo News that he would not confirm where the couple had come from prior to the crash.

North Tonawanda Police Chief Randy Szukala said it would be several weeks before blood tests are completed. He said more serious charges of vehicular manslaughter would need to be discussed with the district attorney.

Also, neighbors on Ruie said they have complained to authorities about the lack of signs warning about the curve where the young woman was killed.

In a terrible coincidence for the Moley family, 20 years ago nearly to the day, they lost another family member in a crash blamed on drunken driving.

Cecelia Fitzsimmons, Kristina’s aunt, lost her 12-year-old daughter, Theresa, on July 17, 1989, in a crash that also took the life of an aunt. The crash, which happened during a vacation in California, was blamed on a twice-convicted drunken driver. Afterward, Fitzsimmons and the Moley family lobbied hard for tougher drunken driving laws.

Kristina Moley was a member of Students Against Destructive Decisions while at Wilson Central High School, where she had graduated a year ago. There, she was also involved in field hockey, softball, was a scholar athlete and was class treasurer for several years.

Kristina’s parents, John and Lynne Moley, told The News that they were grateful for the large family support, with John’s parents, Anthony and Theresa, Kristina’s two aunts and two uncles, and her 11 older cousins who John said were all like siblings to Kristina. Most live on the same road as John and Lynne.

Sister Emily, 25, said that Kristina was a “diva about her hair” and loved crazy “ugly” hats.

“But she could pull it off,” said Emily, trying to smile.

She was the youngest in the family and often was called "Princess Ginna."

Kristina is also survived by a brother, Nick, age 22.

Kristina had been attending Cazenovia College, majoring in fashion merchandising, but changed to psychology and had planned this fall to attend St. John Fisher College in Rochester and live with Emily.

Her friends were inconsolable Wednesday. “I knew her before we could talk. We grew up together,” said her friend David Warsocki.

“She lived life to the fullest and never said anything mean to anyone,” Erica Horvath said.

Her mother echoed those thoughts. “I was at peace [Tuesday] night. She had lived life to the fullest and had no regrets.”

Kristina’s mother also said Ryan was a “real nice kid” who treated her daughter well and said the two had been inseparable since they started dating a little more than two months ago after meeting at their jobs, at Basil Toyota.

A Mass of Christian Burial for Moley will be offered at 10 a. m. Saturday in St. Brendan on the Lake Catholic Church, 359 Lake St., Wilson.

nfischer@buffnews.com andmbecker@buffnews.com