New Jersey couple killed in crash While Driving To Their Wedding In PA.
A New Jersey couple was killed while traveling to Pennsylvania for their wedding this past week, officials said.
Fanwood officials announced this weekend that Kathryn M. Schurtz, 35, (pictured) died along with her fiancée, Joseph D. Kearney, in the automobile accident on Wednesday on their way to their wedding in Pittsburgh.
In the announcement, local offiicals noted that Kathryn was the daughter of former Fanwood Councilwoman Karen Schurtz.
The accident happened Wednesday on I-78 in Berks County, according to News12, when a tractor-trailer ran into the rear of a car and started a chain reaction with four other vehicles.
The tractor-trailer was unable to stop for traffic ahead and initially slammed into a passenger car near mile marker 29 on I-78 in Windsor Towship. The accident happened around 2:40 p.m. on Wednesday, Pennsylvania state police told NBC Philadelphia.
The force of the initial wreck pushed the car into another tractor-trailer, starting the chain reaction, according to the report.
Born in Elizabeth, Kathryn Schurtz grew up in Fanwood and graduated from Union Catholic High School in Scotch Plains in 2001, according to an obituary posted on Fanwood’s Facebook page.
Schurtz attended George Washington University, where she received her liberal arts degree and went on to earn her MBA from Notre Dame, according to the obituary.
Schurtz was employed as the head of platform partnerships for Oracle Data Cloud in New York City and was currently residing in Jersey City, the obituary said.
“She will be remembered for her voracious appetite for reading, love of cooking, and trailblazing new adventures with Joseph, according to the obituary.
Surviving are her parents, Joseph and Karen; her sister, Kimberly; her sister and brother-in-law Joanne and Kevin Schwoer; and her nephew Landon Schwoer, 3 months old.
Visitation will be at Immaculate Heart of Mary R.C. Church, 1571 Martine Ave., Scotch Plains, on Monday from 4 to 8 p.m. and on Tuesday from 10 to 11 a.m. followed by a mass at 11 AM.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Kathryn M. Schurtz Scholarship Fund at Union Catholic High School, Scotch Plains.
