They were teenagers from Anahola, Kaua'i, and Waimea on the Big Island who formed a bond as boarding students at Kamehameha Schools that lasted beyond their graduation from the Kapalama campus last year.

When asked in the 2006 Kamehameha yearbook what she missed about her Big Island home, Whitney Fergerstrom answered with one word: "Everything!!!"

Fergerstrom, 18, was riding in a sport utility vehicle with some of the friends she found at Kamehameha — four other teenage girls — when it crashed head-on with a pickup on Kailua's Kapa'a Quarry Road just before 10:30 p.m. Thursday night.

Fergerstrom and Leshay Gusman, also 18, were killed.

On her MySpace page, Fergerstrom had blocked outsiders from peeking at the details of her life. But she left a single quote for all to see:

"Live life like there's no tomorrow."

Their 2006 classmate, Shasteen Kahaunaele, also 18, was taken to The Queen's Medical Center in critical condition.

Mia Archuleta, 19, was taken to Castle Medical Center in stable condition. She graduated in 2005 and was a member of Kamehameha's national championship cheerleading squad.

A 15-year-old Kamehameha sophomore was taken to Queen's in serious condition.

"I grew up with Shasteen and I grew up with Whitney, and I've known Leshay since middle school," said their friend, Josh Planas, 19. "They're awesome, awesome friends. We're all just trying to hold it together."

As word spread quickly among their group, several of the girls' friends flew to O'ahu from the Neighbor Islands.

"We've just been calling all of our friends," Planas said. "It's just really sad. We're holding up the best we can."

The girls' 2006 Suzuki SUV collided with a 2006 Nissan pickup truck heading in the opposite direction.

The Nissan truck was driven by a 28-year-old man. He and his 35-year-old male passenger were taken to Queen's in serious condition, said Bryan Cheplic, spokesman for the city's Emergency Medical Services Department.

The Suzuki was Kane'ohe-bound when it headed down a dip on Kapa'a Quarry Road, crossed the center line and crashed into the Nissan, police said.

After the collision, the Suzuki veered to the right of the road and ended up in a gulch, police said.

Investigators said speed may have been a factor in the crash.

One of the dead women had been driving the SUV, Honolulu police said. The other was riding in the back seat directly behind her.

Both were ejected in the collision, police said.

Gusman's extended family confirmed that she grew up on Kaua'i and boarded at Kamehameha but left further comment for her immediate family members, who did not respond to requests for interviews.

Her name is in the University of Hawai'i's computer system. But UH officials yesterday could not immediately say whether Gusman was a UH student and where she may have been enrolled.

"Nobody can locate a campus for her," said UH spokesman Jim Manke. "We think that maybe she applied to the university but has not been enrolled."

Fergerstrom was enrolled at UH-Manoa as a freshman and comes from an extended Big Island family.

She was the niece of state Rep. Dwight Takamine, D-1st (Kohala, Hamakua, North Hilo), Takamine's office confirmed. Takamine did not respond to repeated requests for comment, and Fergerstrom's parents did not respond to requests for an interview.

Both Fergerstrom and Gusman listed their addresses with UH as Girls Road, which is next to Kamehameha's Kapalama campus.

Their deaths were O'ahu's 12th and 13th traffic fatalities of the year, compared with nine at the same time last year.

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.