CRASH VICTIM BOUGHT CAN OF SPRAY CLEANER, OFFICIALS SAY

One of five Penncrest High School girls killed in a car crash last
month bought a can of the aerosol spray Duster II shortly before the
accident, investigators said yesterday.

Delaware County Medical Examiner Dimitri L. Contostavlos said the
announcement added weight to his finding that substance abuse was the
main cause of the Jan. 29 one-car accident on Route 1.

Contostavlos reported on Monday that the driver of the car, Loren
Wells, 16, had a significant level of difluoroethane in her blood when
she died. The chemical is found in Duster II, used to clean computer
keyboards.

In a joint statement released after Contostavlos issued his report,
the parents of the five girls called the toxicology evidence
inconclusive. After the accident, state police found an empty
container of Duster II in the car.

Based on an anonymous tip to the Medical Examiner's Office, state
police learned that the teens had bought the spray at the Staples
office supply store in the Springfield Shopping Center, which borders
Route 1. The crash happened farther south on Route 1.

Staples assistant manager Pat Steelman confirmed yesterday that one of
the girls had bought the spray. Contostavlos said store employees
identified her as Shaena Grigaitis, 16, by her clothing and appearance.

The Wells family, reached yesterday through close friend Michael Zeik,
said they needed time to heal and mourn their daughter and were unable
to comment. Grigaitis' father, Jeffrey Grigaitis, also declined to
comment.

On Friday night the Staples store at the shopping center removed
Duster II from its shelves and put the cans behind the counter.

"We decided to take it off the shelves so kids can't get it and buy it
without having to answer some questions," Steelman said. "We would
want to know who they are buying it for and what they want to do with
it.