Greensburg teen killed in early-morning crash on I-376

A young woman was killed when her car left the Parkway East early Friday morning, overturned and struck a sign.

State police said the driver, Sheila Fennell, 19, lost control of her car near Monroeville. She was killed in the crash.

“I heard somebody knock on my door at 4 this morning and he wouldn’t tell me why,” said Tonia Patterson, Fennel’s mother. “The last thing I said to my daughter was, 'Be safe.'”

Fennell graduated last year from Greensburg Salem High School, where she played basketball and volleyball. She was a freshman at Youngstown State University and dreamed of being a neonatal nurse.

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Patterson said her daughter could do anything she put her mind to.

“If she wanted it, she was going for it,” she said. “Anything she did. From the 100 pairs of shoes she had upstairs, to how well she organized her closet, she had her life organized. It was just stopped, too soon.”

Fennel and Makayla Evans, 20, were headed home from a concert. Evans was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. She was released from the hospital hours later.

Channel 11’s Melanie Gillespie spoke to Evans. She said she believes it was raining at the time of the accident, but said it all happened so fast.

“Don’t let Sheila’s death be in vain,” Patterson said. “Let this be a life lesson. Let this be a learning process. Tomorrow is not promised.”

The superintendent of the Greensburg Salem School District said Fennel was very friendly, personable and well-liked by all. The superintendent said the entire school community is saddened by the loss.

Cox Media Group