CANONSBURG, Pa. — Three people, including two teenagers, who were part of a church youth group traveling to West Virginia for a church festival, died in a crash Friday night on Interstate 79.
Authorities told
[ WBOY-TV ]
that the two-vehicle crash happened in Harrison County near the Jerry Dove Exit (Exit 124) in West Virginia. The women were just a few minutes away from their destination in Clarksburg.
Officers said a box truck was traveling north when the driver crossed the median into the southbound lane, hitting a minivan carrying students from the Champion Christian Center in Canonsburg.
A
[ letter posted on the Champion Christian Center’s Facebook page ]
identified the victims as 40-year-old Rhoda Malone, 17-year-old Breanna Africa, and 16-year-old Faith Dowler, who was a member of the
in Houston, Pennsylvania.
"She loved her church," said Debra Griffith, Breanna's grandmother who raised her. "She went to church Sundays twice, Wednesday night, Fridays and Saturdays."
Griffith said Breanna was like her child, not a grandchild.
"She was ours, my baby," Griffith said. "My husband's baby. She was just ours."
Both teenagers went to Canon-MacMillian High School. There was a moment of silence for them Monday. The Superintendent tells Channel 11, the district is trying to maintain normalcy after losing part of its school family.
[ WBOY-TV ]
reported that emergency crews spent eight hours clearing the scene. The southbound lanes of I-79 reopened at 2 a.m. Saturday, 911 officials said.
Five other people were hurt, three of whom were also in the minivan. An official cause for the accident has not yet been determined and remains under investigation.
Champion Christian Center parishioners told Channel 11 News the only thing they can do is pray.
“(They were) just incredible souls. Just so full of life and love and just full of faith. They loved being in church,” Champion Christian Center pastor Joie Miller said.
Jocelyn Africa said her cousin Breanna was like a sister to her.
“She was the best she could ever be. She was just such a giving person. She would do anything for anybody. She could light up a room with her smile. She was so great,” Africa said. “We know she’s where she should be now, and this is what she loved to do. She lived for church. She loved God and she’s with him now.”
Miller said the victims were dedicated to the church, and she encourages other parishioners to live their lives as they did.
“(The) only way I think they would want to be remembered is for us to love others the way they loved them. To love and share the gospel with them,” she said.
GoFundMe accounts have been set up for the families of the victims:
Money raised will help offset the cost of funeral expenses.