MARYSVILLE, Mich. – The Lapeer County Medical Examiner has ruled that a Marysville High School honor student took his own life the day he was suspended from school.
At about 5 p.m. Monday, 17-year-old Jake Jahn drove his Escort wagon into a bridge pillar. The crash happened on Westbound I-69 at Five Lakes Road.
His father, Steve Jahn, says he received a call from the high school the same morning.
"They said they had a situation with Jake where a laptop went missing. They said it was him because they had a picture of him with the laptop," he said.
The accusation seemed out of character for such a high-achieving student. Jake was captain of the swim team and section leader for flute players in the marching band. This Thursday he was to begin a starring role in the high school musical "Anything Goes."
His father says he arrived at the school after administrators questioned Jake about the laptop.
"He was broken down, defeated, belittled to no end," Jahn said.
He says Jake told him he had borrowed the laptop from a teacher. Jake had made no attempt to hide it while working at home on a project over the weekend.
"If it was something that serious, why stick him alone in a room for an hour and then call me. Shouldn't you have the parents be involved?" Jahn said.
The suspension meant Jake couldn't take part in graduation ceremonies, the prom, and a state flute competition for which he had been preparing. Missing the musical may have been the most crushing blow. Students say the production has been postponed.
His father says Jake seemed drained when he took him home. That afternoon, the teen left without telling his father. The Lapeer County Sheriff's department says Jake was seen in his car in a turnaround in the median of the freeway. He accelerated and drove a quarter mile into the pillar. He never tried to stop. The car, decorated with Batman images he had loved since childhood, burst into flames.
The Marysville superintendent and high school principal did not return calls to Local 4.
Persons familiar with school discipline say it is common to suspend students amid allegations of theft.
Steve allows a brief look into his son's bedroom. It holds images of Marysville High, family photos and a copy of the constitution.
He had seemed on track to make his senior year his very best.
His father reveals a long awaited letter. Michigan State had accepted Jake into the music program.
"The letter came yesterday," Jahn explained. "He never saw it."