At about 12:30 p.m. Saturday, a woman kneels before a scorched tree rising from a patch of blackened earth along Dairy Road in Lower Towamensing Township, her sobs echoing through the chill air.

A group of people huddles around her, hands in their coat pockets, some with their shoulders hunched, all with tears trickling down their faces. The sharp, acrid smell of burned fuel lingers.They have brought a bouquet of helium filled balloons. They tie the balloons to the tree, its bark blackened and split. A bouquet of pink flowers, wilted now, stands against the tree. A wreath decorated with silver filigree angels stands about a foot away.Earlier, a knot of teenagers stands at the tree, silent. Heads down, eyes red-rimmed, sniffling.Sixteen hours earlier, a car driven by a 17-year-old boy, and carrying a 13-year-old girl and two 16-year-old boys, crossed into the opposite lane of this narrow, winding country road, hitting an oncoming car. Both cars overturned and caught fire; the one driven by the 17-year-old flung against the now-scorched tree.He, and his passengers, are dead. At 6:30 tonight, their families and friends will light candles in Palmerton Borough Park in their memory.The 18-year-old driver of the car that was hit, and her 22-year-old passenger, manage to crawl out from their burning car, injured, but alive.The tree stands a stone's throw from a 35 mph speed limit sign, along a stretch of road that winds through woods bordering a golf course.Police issue a report, saying speed was a factor in the crash.