Couple On Way To Wedding Killed In I-78 Crash

BERKS COUNTY, PA — A couple who was traveling to their wedding was killed in a tragic accident on I-78 in Berks County on Wednesday, Nov. 14.

Officials say Kathryn M. Schurtz, 35, died along with her fiancé, Joseph D. Kearney, in the automobile accident. The couple was traveling from New Jersey to their wedding in Pittsburgh.

The accident happened Wednesday at 2:38 p.m. on I-78 in Berks County, according to police, when a tractor trailer was traveling westbound and was unable to stop for the traffic ahead.

That tractor trailer first struck a passenger vehicle, which was then pushed into the rear of another tractor trailer. The chain reaction crash consisted of five tractor trailers and one passenger vehicle, according to the Pennsylvania State Police.

There was heavy fire involving two tractor trailers and the passenger vehicle. There were three injuries and two fatalities, including Kearney and Schurtz, police said. The highway was completely shut down for more than four hours.

Born in Elizabeth, Kathryn Schurtz grew up in Fanwood and graduated from Union Catholic High School in Scotch Plains in 2001, according to an obituary posted on Fanwood's Facebook page. Schurtz attended George Washington University, where she received her liberal arts degree and went on to earn her MBA from Notre Dame, according to the obituary.

Schurtz was employed as the head of platform partnerships for Oracle Data Cloud in New York City and was currently residing in Jersey City, the obituary said.

"She will be remembered for her voracious appetite for reading, love of cooking, and trailblazing new adventures with Joseph, according to the obituary.

Surviving are her parents, Joseph and Karen; her sister, Kimberly; her sister and brother-in-law Joanne and Kevin Schwoer; and her nephew Landon Schwoer, 3 months old.

Visitation will be at Immaculate Heart of Mary R.C. Church, 1571 Martine Ave., Scotch Plains, on Monday from 4 to 8 p.m. and on Tuesday from 10 to 11 a.m. followed by a mass at 11 AM.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Kathryn M. Schurtz Scholarship Fund at Union Catholic High School, Scotch Plains.

Borough of Fanwood photo of Kathryn M. Schurtz

With reporting by Tom Davis of Patch