ZELIENOPLE, Pa.,None — People lined up Monday afternoon at the Zelienople fire station to help raise money for a scholarship fund in honor of three Seneca Valley High School seniors who drowned in January in an icy pond.
Trevor Barkley, 19, Elijah Lunsford, 18, and Sam Bucci, 18, were on their way to a fire department meeting Jan. 26 when the sport utility vehicle they were in crashed into a lake less than a mile from the fire house.
Lunsford and Bucci, were found dead with their seat belts on inside the vehicle, police said. Barkley's body was found 10 feet from the shore. Officials believe the teen was able to open the door and may have been able to get out.
Bucci and Lunsford were firefighters, so the department decided to sell T-shirts to set up a scholarship in their name.
"I didn't expect to see all these people," said Spencer Mathew, a friend. He said the scholarship was "the least we can do to honor those three boys who passed away. … (It's a) great way to remember them."
"It's hard to lose friends," Jennifer Nguyen said. "Not seeing their faces is hard."
Fire officials said the scholarships will help future firefighters continue their education.
The fundraiser will go on until 7 p.m. For more information, visit the Zelienople Fire Department's Facebook page.
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