New Jersey Couple Die in Traffic Collision Driving to Their Own Wedding

A chain reaction crash involving multiple tractor-trailers and a passenger vehicle killed a New Jersey couple en route to their wedding Wednesday.

Kathryn Schurtz, 35, and her fiance Joseph Kearney died in the second of two crashes that took place within minutes of each other on the I-78 in Berks County, Fox News reported.

The first crash involved two tractor-trailers and a car, The Reading Eagle said. No injuries were reported, but the crash caused traffic to slow down.

A few minutes later, a tractor-trailer, unable to stop, crashed into Schurtz and Kearney's vehicle and drove it into another tractor-trailer. The couple's automobile and two trucks caught fire, The Associated Press reported. The couple were killed and three other people were injured in the crash.

Road closures and delays halted traffic for several hours, according to The Eagle. Road user Jared Ney of Hamburg told the publication he didn't get his daughter home from school until past 5 p.m. "That's a five- or 10-minute ride, and it took two hours," said Ney, 32.

Similarly, Daniel and Barbara Hotko were delayed on their journey from Durham, North Carolina. "It's an eight-hour drive to our home in New Jersey," said Daniel Hotko. But after driving for 12 hours, the couple were near a gas station on Route 61, a mile or so from 1-78 at 9.30 p.m.

Schurtz and Kearney were driving from New Jersey to Pittsburgh for their wedding, an obituary stated. Schurtz lived in Jersey City and worked as head of platform purchases at Oracle Data Cloud in New York City. "She will be remembered for her voracious appetite for reading, love of cooking, and trailblazing new adventures with Joseph," the obituary continued.

Schurtz is survived by her parents, her sisters, her brother-in-law and her three-month-old nephew.

Our hearts go out to former Fanwood Councilwoman Karen Schurtz who lost her daughter and future son-in-law in a car...

Posted by Fanwood, NJ on Saturday, November 17, 2018

Early in the morning of November 1, a car hit several people waiting at a bus stop in Tampa, Florida. Five children and two adults were rushed to hospitals in the city after the incident. All were expected to survive.

"Hours ago, they were trick or treating. Now, they're at the hospital," Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan told WFLA at the time.

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