By MATTHEW HENRY
mailto:matthew.henry@herald-trib.com

 VENICE -- On Monday evening, 17-year-old Cassey Trascik walked toward the bedroom door of her best friend, Elijah Carpenter.

 Elijah's half-brother, Gabriel, tugged at her hand as she approached, warning her not to enter.

 "Elijah's not here," the 51/2-year-old told her.

 Elijah, a popular, active 17-year-old Venice High School student, was identified earlier Monday as the pedestrian killed when he stepped in front of a car on Interstate 75 early Sunday.

 He had no identification with him when the Florida Highway Patrol found his body. Valerie Bougoin, 22, of Davie, who was driving the car north of Sumter Boulevard, also was killed.

 Elijah lived on Havana Road with his mother, Karen Louise Carpenter; his stepfather, John Joseph Sloan; and seven siblings, some of whom were half-siblings and some of whom were step-siblings. Sloan said Tuesday that Elijah's mother was suffering too greatly to talk to a reporter.

 Friends said his death will be deeply felt by many classmates. Several gathered Tuesday in the Venice High School drama department office to reminisce about the aspiring actor.

 Retiring drama teacher Bill Mossman said he watched Elijah blossom during his three years of high school into a charismatic actor with unlimited potential. Elijah took away the best actor award for undergraduates from the drama department's end-of-the-year banquet.

 "I would say as he got older, he would have a James Dean quality," Mossman said.

 Friends described Elijah as a happy, passionate person who talked about going into drama at Florida State University or moving to Los Angeles to pursue a modeling career. But he also was deeply unhappy about the loss of his father, who killed himself when Elijah was a few months old.

 Island Community Church organized an informal gathering to talk and pray about Elijah on Monday night. About 10 students were expected, but 45 showed up, Cassey said.

 "When he walked into a room, he would light it up," Cassey said. "You had to look at Elijah. He was a really charismatic person.

 "He was always nice. He gave everyone a chance."

 In the past 18 months, Cassey and Elijah had grown inseparable. The tie grew out of acting parts that forced them to spend a lot of time together, but later they discovered their personalities perfectly match.

 "Everyone called us 'Fire and Ice,'" Cassey said.

 Elijah was the fiery part.

 "He was so passionate, so determined," she said. "You couldn't stop him."

 Friends said that one of Elijah's most memorable roles was that of Ray, a young man dying of AIDS in the play "Proposals."Cassey plays Josie, the woman Ray loves.

 Josie reads from a message Ray wrote for her: "To Josie … these are the pages of our lives together, to be filled in as they reveal themselves … You are a most fortunate woman in having won the heart of a truly remarkable man -- who finally feels he's worthy of you."

 (Josie looks at Ray, filled with emotion.)

 Ray: "Let me finish it. 'Though the world will soon beat a path to my doorway, the house will be empty. I will be otherwise occupied with a friend writing postcards from the moon. …'"