Bradley Prosise, the 17-year-old West High School senior killed in an early Tuesday morning alcohol-related wreck, was at the home of Tennessee men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl earlier that evening.

Pearl's son, Steven, was a friend and classmate of Prosise's at West.

Pearl said Wednesday night that "a couple'' of the four students involved in the single-car crash were at his home to celebrate the 20th birthday of his oldest daughter, Jacqui. Pearl did not elaborate on which of the young men were at his West Knoxville residence, but he did say "Brad was there.''

In addition to Prosise, the students in the wreck were Chad Clabough, 17, James Fox, 17 and Jeffrey Keenan, 18. All were listed in stable condition Wednesday night according to a spokesman at UT Medical Center.

Darrell DeBusk, spokesman for the Knoxville Police Department, said alcohol was believed to be a factor in the wreck. DeBusk said full and empty containers of beer were found inside and outside the vehicle at the crash scene near the intersection of Northshore Drive and Buckeye Road.

Pearl said there was no alcohol consumed at his residence, nor did he have any reason to believe the students had been drinking prior to their arrival at his home.

"There was no alcohol, there was no partying,'' said Pearl, who as of Wednesday night had not been questioned by authorities. "It was myself and my family and a couple of Steven's friends. If not for the grace of God, my son could have been in that car with those guys. It's a terrible tragedy.

"There was no indication that I would have had that there would have been alcohol involved.''

Pearl said the young men were at his house for 30 to 45 minutes and left at approximately 11:30 p.m. Monday.

The accident occurred at 1:55 a.m. Tuesday, with Prosise behind the wheel of a 1998 Chevrolet Blazer.

DeBusk said the vehicle for some unexplained reason ran off the road and flipped onto the driver's side, sliding until it became wedged between two trees. Rescue workers from the Knoxville Fire Department needed two hours to free Clabough from the front seat. It took even longer to extract Prosise's body from the wreckage.

Pearl was visibly saddened while recalling the evening at his home prior to the tragedy.

"I had done the (Vol Calls) radio show, at Texas Roadhouse, so it actually pushed our singing 'Happy Birthday' back to a little later in the evening,'' Pearl said. "Some of those kids came over. It's unbelievable, they're right there in your kitchen, and a few hours later ... I thank God that three of them survived. Looking at the wreckage, it's a miracle and it's a test of our faith. I feel badly for their parents.''

Pearl took his son, Steven, to the hospital Tuesday morning to visit his injured friends after learning of the wreck at 8 a.m. At noon, Pearl said he filmed a pre-scheduled promotional with Tennessee State Troopers about drinking and driving.

"These are very difficult lessons to learn,'' Pearl said. "We're talking about great kids here. We're talking about some fine student athletes at West High School and Bearden High School.''

Clabough and Keenan attend West. Fox attends Bearden.

Pearl said he wouldn't be surprised to be questioned by authorities as the investigation into the wreck continues.

"I'm sure they may; this is a serious, serious situation,'' Pearl said. "I feel awful about it. But again, we've got some rules in our house, and those guys know there's no drinking in our house. There's certain times my son can go out and certain times he can't. You get out there too late, and nothing good can happen.''