The Butler County community is grieving the loss of two young people who died in a car crash Saturday night, and a third who was severely injured.
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Cindy Parker is the lead pastor at Walk in Faith Ministries in Lyndora.
“We watched the news the night before about the accident happening, but I didn’t realize until the next morning that we knew the family,” Parker told Channel 11’s Andrew Havranek.
Parker knows the Schweinsberg family through the mom’s boyfriend and has known him for nearly 12 years.
“Pretty devastated when I texted him yesterday morning,” she said.
On Saturday, Naveah Schweinsberg, 19, was killed in the crash on Freeport Road, along with the driver, her boyfriend, Skylar Gray, 22. Maliyah Schweinsberg, 17, was thrown from the car and is at UPMC Presbyterian with serious injuries.
“This mom that is grieving but can’t fully grieve because she’s on this journey with her other daughter of survival,” Parker said.
So, the pastor wanted to do something for the community to come together and pray for the family.
“Sometimes everybody grieves in their own little place, and you just need a time to come and hug somebody and just cry a little bit and just have that togetherness and I wanted to be able to offer that to them,” Parker said.
Naveah graduated from Butler Area Senior High School, and her sister is still a student there.
In a statement, the superintendent told Channel 11, “Counselors are available at Butler Senior High School to support students and staff members in need of grief counseling and emotional support. On behalf of the Butler Area School District community, we extend our deepest sympathy to Nevaeh’s family and friends during this incredibly difficult time, and we continue to pray for our student’s full recovery.”
A GoFundMe is raising money to help their mom with funeral and hospital expenses.
“The GoFundMe will take a big edge off of them for finances to know she can stay there comfortably and spend as much time as she needs to with her daughter,” Parker said.
Parker said Maliyah has been awake and alert but didn’t comment further on her injuries. Maliyah’s mom told Channel 11 she is improving.
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