Community gathers to mourn Yough crash victims
Another vigil will be held today at Crabapple Park in Herminie.
By PATRICK VARINE
TribLive
Kylee Korber always had a smile on her face, according to classmate Malayna Keefer.
“She was super-funny, and she was just a really happy person,” said Keefer, 17. “She liked hunting, and I always saw her with her cowgirl boots on.”
Keefer was among more than 60 people who filled nearly all the pews Thursday night during a vigil at Primitive Methodist Church in Sutersville.
Keefer and others were there to grieve the loss of Korber, 16, of Smithton and fellow Yough High School students Rocco Zugai, 18, of West Newton; Brady Hunker, 15, of Herminie; and Felicity Martini, 15, of Yukon.
The four teens died in a March 21 crash in Sewickley Township.
Primitive Methodist Pastor Matthew Sigler said the vigil was a way for the community to “take our first steps toward healing.”
“Sometimes it takes time to process what we’re feeling,” Sigler said. “God gives us the opportunity to share and to remember the joy of these young lives.”
He lit four candles, one in memory of each of the four teens, before lighting a fifth candle in the center of the church altar.
“The center candle is to remind us of the strength we have united in both faith and community,” he said.
Sigler’s son, Josh, was a former classmate of Rocco Zugai.
“We were friends when we were both in middle school,” Josh Sigler said. “He was really energetic, always moving and doing something.”
Classmate Brayden Anderson, 17, agreed.
“He was a really good kid, one of the boys,” Anderson said. “He loved anything with a motor. He had a lot of dirt bikes he’d ride with friends. They’d go up to my buddy’s pap’s house where there was a bunch of land and ride around.”
A second vigil is scheduled for 7 p.m. today at Crabapple Park, 1415 Herminie-West Newton Road in Herminie.
Anderson said he is still trying to process his feelings.
“It just hurts,” he said. Police continue to investigate the crash and have been working to build a timeline of the events leading up to it.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Trooper Jason Kinger at 717-585-5532.
