Lancaster Co. community deeply feels loss of two students
A poster in the Warwick School District office shows Meghan Keeney and Jack Nicholson, juniors at the high school who died after a car crash Friday, October 26th, 2018. (Photo: Rachel McDevitt/WITF)
(Lititz) — A Lancaster County school district is still grappling with the loss of two students, one week after a car plowed into their vehicle as they were leaving school.
Meghan Keeney and Jack Nicholson were both juniors at Warwick High School.
They passed away over the weekend, after they were caught in an eight-car pileup in front of the school last Friday.
Investigators say the crash was caused by 63-year-old Debra Slaymaker-Walker. She has been hospitalized and unconscious since the incident.
A third student, Rylan Beebe, is in the hospital. School administrators say his condition is improving.
Warwick Superintendent April Hershey said the district has had to deal with the death of students before, but never like this. Because of the time and location of the accident, many students witnessed it and school staff acted as first responders.
Hershey said Keeney and Nicholson were very well known in the community.
She said Keeney was a member of the field hockey and girls lacrosse teams, and will be remembered for her passion for music. Nicholson had just joined the wrestling team, had been training as a boxer for the past three years, and bought his first car with money he had saved from mowing lawns over the summer.
“They traveled in different circles so they touched a lot of different kinds of lives,” Hershey said. “We’ve had a huge amount of students asking for assistance because they’ve known those students. But even those students who didn’t know them personally feel this very deeply.”
She added this is a lesson in reality for many students.
Students left each other encouraging messages on the windows and doors of Warwick High School to cope with the loss of two classmates. (Photo: Rachel McDevitt/WITF)
“What’s the worst part of this is these kids didn’t do anything wrong,” Hershey said. “We preach and preach and preach to them to make good choices and they made all the right choices. So this is a lot for students to digest.”
About 240 students came to the high school on Saturday, when counseling and therapy dogs were available. Hershey said support will continue for as long as students need it.
She also thanked the community for the outpouring of support following the accident.
Three GoFundMe campaigns have been launched by students to help the families of the victims with funeral and medical expenses. Students and staff at Warwick and other schools in the area have been wearing the Warwick school colors to show their support. Stray Production Services in Lititz has been selling t-shirts with the message “Warwick Strong,” with the proceeds going to benefit the families of the victims.
Funeral services:
Meghan’s service of remembrance and thanksgiving is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, November 3rd at the Lancaster Evangelical Free Church. Friends may visit at the church on Friday, November 2nd from 4-6 p.m.. Additional visitation will be held Saturday from 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Friends will be received by Jack’s family Sunday, November 4th from 2-4 p.m. at the west wing auditorium of LCBC Manheim. The service is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. in the main auditorium.
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
