A family member has identified a Belleville West High School senior killed in a car crash Saturday.

The deceased student is Stephen Edward Zehner, 18, of Belleville, said Shari Zehner, of Belleville, Zehner's step-grandmother.

"He was a great kid, let me tell you," Shari Zehner said.

The crash left another student seriously injured.

Zehner had planned to attend college after attaining a 4.0 grade average in high school, Shari Zehner said.

"He did a lot of yard work for me, and we did a lot of stuff in the backyard," she said. "And I can't even look out the backdoor hardly. He was just a really hard worker."

Zehnher's car rolled over in the 2100 block of State Street Road in unincorporated Belleville at 2:12 a.m. Saturday.

Zehner and a 15-year-old female companion were in the car at the time, and were taken to St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Belleville, according to Lt. Scott Weymouth of the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department.

Zehner was pronounced dead at St. Elizabeth's Hospital. The 15-year-old girl was transported to a St. Louis hospital, where she remains in critical condition.

Zehner and the girl were students at Belleville West High School. Belleville District 201 Superintendent Jeff Dosier said Belleville West will have additional counselors available on Monday for students and staff.

"Our hearts go out to the family and friends," Dosier said. "It's a terrible tragedy."

Speaking to a reporter on Saturday -- before Zehner's name became public -- Principal Rich Mertens called the 18-year-old an unusual student: he took a variety of classes, some in the vocational fields as well as advanced-placement calculus.

"He was that special kind of student who made everyone in the class better, because he wasn't afraid to give his best," said welding instructor Michael Moore. "He held himself to high standards and wasn't afraid to let them see it."

Anyone with additional information about the crash is asked to call Weymouth at 277-3504.

Contact reporter Elizabeth Donald at edonald@bnd.com or 239-2501.