05:40 PM CST on Monday, March 27, 2006

By CAROL CAVAZOS / WFAA-TV

Darrell Mark Burress, left, was killed on Saturday; Phillip Gracia was arrested for intoxication manslaughter.

ARLINGTON — Pupils are mourning a Parker County high school principal who was killed by a suspected drunk driver on the weekend.

The driver slammed into Darrell Mark Burress, 48, the principal at Peaster High School, as well as two officers, at an accident scene in Arlington at 2 a.m. on Saturday.

Many pupils and teachers attended a memorial service at Northside Baptist Church in Wetherford on Monday.

Classes are continuing at the school, with counselors on standby.

Teachers told pupils what happened in a prepared statement.

Two of the Burress daughters attend the school; one has already graduated.

One of the injured officers, Leticia Brooks, is still in serious condition.

The suspected drunk driver has been charged with intoxicated manslaughter.

"We hope our kids will learn not to get behind a wheel if they have been drinking," said Phillip Bledsoe, Peaster ISD Superintendent.

Burress led the high school's 300 students and 25 faculty members.

"I think it's going to hurt knowing he's not here anymore," said Seth Hendrick, a student at Peaster High.

Bledsoe said Burress was a principal with a good sense of humor who connected with his students. "He did communicate real with some of the boys at the high school, especially when he'd wear a little 'do-rag' on his head," Bledsoe said. "He'd get a chuckle or two from that standpoint."

E-mail ccavazos@wfaa.com