Ted Weindorf expressed himself on the drums. Jason Robertson found his voice in poetry. A fatal car accident on Saturday silenced them both, and friends and family say they’re devastated.

Weindorf, 20, and Robertson, 21, died after the four-door Honda Civic that Weindorf had been driving crashed into a brick barrier in an apartment complex near I-94 and Ann Arbor-Saline Road. The 4:50 a.m. crash occurred in Meadowbrook Village Apartments on Brookfield Drive.

Philip Boos, the lead guitar player for local grunge-metal band Algernon, attended Pioneer High School with Weindorf and Robertson. Boos said he met Weindorf at Slauson Middle School, and the two started their band while they were at Pioneer in 2006.

Ted Weindorf loved playing the drums, friends say.

Sarah Leszcynski photo

“He was a powerhouse behind the drums,” said Boos. “He was a quiet man. At 15 or 16, he picked up the drums, and everyone heard him speak.”

Nick Hinshaw said Robertson was more than a friend; he considered him a brother. He and Robertson lived together for a year in Ypsilanti, although Robertson had been staying with his father in Ann Arbor at the time of the crash.

Hinshaw said they shared a love of writing.

“He and I would write all the time,” Hinshaw said. “We had our own notebooks, and occasionally, we would show each other some stuff we wrote. That’s what we liked to do.”

Boos said Robertson was also the band’s No. 1 fan who attended every show and always had a smile on his face. He liked to pump up the crowd before his friends played.

Robinson worked at Victory Lane Quick Oil Change on Washtenaw Avenue near Golfside in Ypsilanti, Hinshaw said. Lately, he’d been talking about the future — exploring writing professionally, or maybe enrolling in a program involving wind power, his friends said.

Both Robertson and Weindorf had a habit of protecting their friends.

Boos said Weindorf had his back when the guitarist ran into problems with drinking in the fall, calling off partygoers who kept trying to hand Boos drinks. Hinshaw said Robertson pulled him up during severe bouts of mental illness, playing video games with him when he refused to get up and face the day.

It’s still not clear what happened in the early hours prior to the accident Saturday.

But Friday, Weindorf finished a shift as a dishwasher at Seva Restaurant in Ann Arbor before heading to Bel-Mark Lanes, 3530 Jackson Road, to celebrate Boos’ older sister’s birthday. Robertson came, too.

After a night of karaoke, Robertson and Weindorf left around midnight. Boos said he stayed behind to spend time with his sister.

It’s not clear where Robertson and Weindorf went after that.

Friends of Jason Robertson and Ted Weindorf painted this memorial to them on the rock on Washtenaw Avenue.

Just before 5 a.m. Saturday, witnesses told police they saw the car driving very fast on Eisenhower Parkway before it turned into the complex and crashed.

The Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office continues to investigate the accident and did not have new information on the crash Monday evening.

Marielle Weindorf, Ted’s mother, said her son had been living with her and was near home when the accident occurred. She said law enforcement officials have told her they do not believe alcohol was a factor in the crash.

“They felt pretty strongly at the scene and later that Teddy had not been drinking,” she said. “. . . As far as I understand, Teddy was the designated driver.”

Jason Robertson

Weindorf leaves behind his parents, long-time Ann Arbor residents Marielle and Steve, and sister Elizabeth, 13.

“He was well-loved and a wonderful light in our family,” Marielle Weindorf said. “And we’re all just devastated without him. He was on his way to do something great, he and his band.”

She said she’s proud of the loyal friendships her son developed and enjoyed watching him and his friends develop their musical talents. Her son taught himself how to play the drums, she said. The band, which has rotated members over the years except for Weindorf and Boos, grew up practicing in the Weindorfs' basement.

Boos said he’ll treasure the time he spent with his best friend, whom he described as a sensitive soul with the build of a football player, who never wanted to hurt anyone.

(This video shows Ted Weindorf performing with his band, Algernon, at The Ritz in Warren in December 2010.)

Juliana Keeping covers general assignment and health and the environment for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at julianakeeping@annarbor.com or 734-623-2528. Follow Juliana Keeping on Twitter