Pennsylvania State Police identified 36-year-old Amanda Montgomery as the woman who died in Thursday’s head-on crash on Eau Claire Road just after 4 p.m.
Brian Danielson, who worked with Montgomery at Slippery Rock University, was stunned when he heard the news.
“She was always kind. She was quiet, thoughtful and always willing to help out,” said Danielson, the senior director for teaching, learning and academic operations at Slippery Rock University.
Montgomery was a custodian at Bailey Library on campus,
Danielson said she was the first person he saw every morning.
“It was always a light to see her in the morning, where she would come lit up herself with stories of her family,” he said.
Troopers said she was the passenger in an SUV driven by a 17-year-old. That SUV crossed into the opposite lane and hit a Ford pickup truck head-on. The 17-year-old driver was wearing a seatbelt and was flown to Children’s Hospital.
A 50-year-old woman and 3-year-old boy in the truck were taken to AHN Grove City Hospital.
Police said Montgomery was not wearing a seatbelt.
“Any kind of tragedy like this is difficult, regardless of the age, regardless of the circumstance,” Danielson said. “It’s hard to move on. It’s hard to get past it. And we’re definitely feeling that here in the library today. It’s heavy. For sure.”
The university sent an email to students and staff with the news, saying they are offering additional counseling to those who need it during this difficult time.
Danielson said the whole university is praying for the Montgomery family.
“As a university and specifically as the Bailey Library community struggles with this and how deeply we’re feeling it, I can’t imagine what the family is going through,” he said. “And I would just offer our thoughts to the family. Thoughts and prayers, and as much support as they need, that they reach out and find it.”
State police said the investigation is ongoing.
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