Fifteen-year-old Samuel Morris of Bethesda won't sit at his table in Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School's cafeteria again, but a seat will always be there for him.

Morris was struck and killed by a car while crossing Massachusetts Avenue on his way to school Sept. 22. His death, as well as the recent deaths of several other county teens, has officials, parents and students asking for more parental involvement in teen driving and for drivers and pedestrians to take more responsibility.

Since September, 14 teens in the Washington, D.C., area have been killed in car crashes. The recent teen deaths have prompted county leaders to call for tighter restrictions on young, inexperienced drivers and on beginners who drive too fast.

On Friday, at a county "Safe Neighborhood Day" press conference at Silver Spring's Montgomery Blair High School -- located at one of the county's busiest intersections -- Morris' friend, 15-year-old Kelsey Siegel of Chevy Chase, recalled the day school officials announced a student had been struck by a car on the way to school.

"I made sure all of my friends were in school," she said.

Later, when Siegel discovered the student struck was her new friend Morris, she was shocked.

"I couldn't speak, couldn't think, couldn't even cry," she said.

She hadn't known Morris long -- only about a month and a half since he'd just moved to the area -- but he'd always sat at her and her friends' lunch table, she said. Going back to the cafeteria was hard, Siegel said, and she made a sign that said "Reserved for Sam" and put it at his seat.

On Friday, not long after the one-month anniversary of Morris' death, Siegel continued to honor him, wearing a shirt with his name and thoughts about his death written on it. On the back, the words "You'll always have a place at our table" stretched across her shoulders.

"Think of Sam when you're driving," she said. "Think of Sam when you're crossing the street."

Two years ago, a sniper killed 10 people in a two-week period and the community was in an uproar, said County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D). Fourteen teens were killed in car wrecks in a month--where's the community uproar? he asked.

Duncan, a father of five children, said he's hoping parents will take more responsibility for their own teens, many of whom have an "it doesn't affect me" attitude.

"They think that nothing can happen to them," he said. "They think they're invincible."

You never think a tragedy could happen to you or your friends, Siegel said. "What do you think Sam was thinking when he crossed the street?"

Teens should drive the speed limit; parents need to be mindful of what their children are doing on the road, Duncan said.

Teens are sometimes distracted pedestrians, said Assistant Police Chief John King. And sometimes they are distracted drivers who don't pay attention, King said.

In September, five teens died and several others were injured in three separate crashes in the course of one weekend. In one incident, a 16-year-old driver lost control of his car. In another, police said alcohol may have been a factor when a car driven by a 17-year-old slammed into a light pole. Other teens who died that weekend were drag racing, according to police.

Lawmakers are working on legislation that would crack down on reckless drivers. Several members of the Maryland House of Delegates plan on pursuing legislation that would prevent young drivers from having non-family passengers in the car during the first six months of their provisional driving year, said Del. William A. Bronrott (D-Dist. 16) of Bethesda. Delegates also are looking into legislation that would put speed cameras, such as those used at tollbooths, near schools and in residential neighborhoods.

"We can work hard to pass laws to try and make roads more safe," said Rep. Christopher Van Hollen Jr. (D-Dist. 8) of Kensington, adding federal government has urged county and state governments to crack down on reckless drivers.

However, he said, people need to take individual responsibility for their actions.

Slow down, he said. Drivers and pedestrians should obey traffic signals and be alert.

"Each of us bears individual responsibility for our actions on the roads," Van Hollen said.

Anyone, he said, could be the next victim or cause of tragedy.

Perry Mullsteff of Damascus knows all too well that anyone can be a victim. His 19-year-old son, Sean, was killed in April when the front tire of his car bounced off a curb while he was driving home just before midnight after participating in a church function and spending time with his girlfriend.

Sean didn't know how to handle the car when he bumped the curb, Mullsteff said. He skidded and hit a tree. He had been going 86 miles per hour in a 50 mile per hour zone.

Sean broke his wrist. He punctured his lung and spleen. He bruised his kidneys. He broke his neck. He punctured his main aorta and bled to death.

"My son's life passed before his eyes in a half of a second," Mullsteff said.

Sean didn't speed on a regular basis. He didn't drink and didn't do drugs, Mullsteff said. He said he doesn't know why his son decided to speed that night.

After Sean's death, Mullsteff started the Sean Mullsteff Teen Driving Foundation, a nonprofit organization that teaches teens defensive driving skills and promotes driving safely in hopes of preventing future fatalities on the road.

"Sean was speeding, yes. That was a tragic decision he made," Mullsteff said. But, he said, it was Sean's inexperience that cost him his life.

This year in state and county government, lawmakers will try and crack down on young and inexperienced drivers. In Damascus, Mullsteff will help young drivers learn safe driving skills. Officials hope that in county homes, parents will talk to their teens about safe driving.

And in B-CC, a seat in the cafeteria will remain empty.