Online taunts. Punches thrown. More than four years of threats and harassment have kept alive the memory of the crash that killed Edward Little High School student Kenny Jellison.

So many times, when a young person dies, family and friends join together to do something in memory of the deceased, something that helps turn pain into productive action. That has not happened in the aftermath of Jellison’s death.

In 2006, Jellison was a passenger in Kyle Karkos’ car when Karkos lost control at the wheel and slid into a pole on Canal Street in Lewiston. Jellison died instantly; Karkos was charged with manslaughter.

At his trial a year later, Karkos was cleared. The judge found he had acted in a “foolish and immature” manner and had exercised “poor judgment” by drag racing with another vehicle just before the crash. But, in the court’s view, Karkos’ actions did not rise to the level that would make him criminally responsible for his friend’s death.

In the days immediately following Jellison’s death, teens who were friends with both Jellison and Karkos picked “sides,” and a feud began. After the charges against Karkos were dismissed, the feud solidified and remains strong.

Some, including police, say the latest manifestation of that feud was the incident in which an Auburn man was seen striking Karkos with his car at Great Falls Plaza earlier this month. In that case, William Panzino has been charged with aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon. Panzino denies that the accident had anything to do with Jellison’s death, but Kyle Karkos and his mother, Kelley, disagree. So do police and friends of the Jellison family.

When he was living, Kenny Jellison was part of what bound Karkos and a large group of others together in friendship. In death, he has become the unwilling spark that continues to ignite in-person and online intimidation, regular street fights and streaming harassment. And that’s really sad.

It’s time for Jellison’s friends to put the feud to rest and do something positive in Jellison’s name. Actually, it’s well past time.

Jellison died after a witness described seeing Karkos and another driver race “neck and neck” along Canal. The minute he died, he became a statistic in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration book on teen deaths.

According to the NHTSA, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death of people ages 16 to 20. And, among people who participate in illegal street racing, 49 in every 1,000 are injured. In too many cases, it isn’t the driver who dies. It’s a passenger — as in the Jellison case — or someone in another car not involved in the race.

Often, innocent pedestrians are killed by out-of-control drivers, and, in January last year, a teenager riding his bike on the side of a road in Florida was struck and killed by a street racer.

Last year, law enforcement officials told CNN that illegal street racing has reached “ridiculous” levels in the United States. There is some speculation that the “Fast and Furious” movie series of the last decade raised the popularity of street racing, but street racing is not new. It has been around as long as there have been cars. The real question is whether the satisfaction of winning a street race is worth a life.

Kyle Karkos has repeatedly said that Kenny Jellison was his best friend. And, yet, Karkos appears to have done little to tamp the feud. In fact, he has actively and passively helped fuel it on a regular basis.

Friends of the Jellison family have also actively participated in the feud, causing undue heartache for that family.

Is that to be Kenny Jellison’s permanent legacy? An ugly and lasting feud?

Wouldn’t it make more sense for these people, all of whom claim to have loved Kenny, to set down their hate and do something to honor Kenny’s memory? Perhaps something that may help spare the life of another teen who gets in a car and is caught up in the heat of a street race?

Four years is enough time for Kenny Jellison’s friends to hate.

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