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Jun 25, 2009 2:57 pm US/Eastern
Greensburg-Salem '09 Graduate Killed In Crash
"It's a tragedy...Our heart goes out to her family." -- Sonic GM Tom Christopher
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
Just weeks after her high school graduation and the death of her mother, a Westmoreland County teenager died in a head-on collision in Salem Township.
Rachel Parker, 18, of New Alexandria, was heading to her summer job just before 5pm yesterday, when her car veered into oncoming traffic and struck another vehicle .
Police say Parker was driving her Subaru southbound on Route 119 when she crossed over the double yellow lines and ran head on into another vehicle near Skyview Drive.
The driver of the other vehicle, Cody Crawford, 20, of Blairsville, was taken to UPMC Presbyterian.
Parker was pronounced dead at the Westmoreland Regional Hospital.
Parker graduated from Greensburg-Salem High School three weeks ago and had planned to go to Pitt in the fall.
News of her death has been spreading fast through the community including at the Sonic restaurant in Greensburg where she worked.
"People are somber and we're trying our best to move forward, but at the same time, we want to honor Rachel as best we can," Sonic GM Tom Christopher told KDKA.
Christopher said the former varsity cheerleader always greeted customers with a smile. "She was bubbly," he added. "She liked to have fun. She liked to interact with the guests and had fun with the crew members... was a great team member, willing to help out anywhere that she was needed."
Christopher says Parker's co-workers are trying to get over the grief of knowing that she spent her last moments on her way to work.
"It's a tragedy...Our heart goes out to her family."
In another tragic twist, Parker's mother died at the beginning of June.
Police are still investigating the accident.
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