La Roche Freshman's Death Stuns Family, Friends

The sister of a La Roche freshman who took her roommate's car without permission in the middle of the night and then crashed into the back of a garbage truck in Lawrenceville while being chased by police said the freshman "just wanted to come home."

Sara C. Glaser, 18, of Friendship, died five hours after the 3:30 a.m. crash Tuesday morning near Liberty Avenue and 34th Street.

"My sister was a good person, everyone loved her," said Anna Glaser, 17. "She was the best basketball player you've ever seen."

"We're all pretty sick," her mother, Cynthia Glaser, told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. "I keep thinking I'm dreaming."

"There's obviously two sides to Sara. That's not the girl that I knew. What a sweetheart she was here," said David Walchesky, who coached Ms. Glaser lst year when she played basketball at Pittsburgh Allderdice High School.

"That is a shame, and Sara, to me, is one you would never forget as a coach," he told the Post-Gazette.

Glaser's sister said Sara recently had some sort of confrontation with other students at La Roche, but she couldn't be specific about what happened. 

"My sister was a good person. She was loved by so many people," Glaser said. "She just wanted to come home. She had forgotten her school stuff.

"Then I think she got scared when police tried to stop her and she eventually lost control of the car. She was trying to avoid the police because she didn't want any more drama."

Court records show Pittsburgh Police arrested and charged her in July for robbery and May for burglary. The most serious charges were withdrawn or dismissed, and she pleaded guilty to a summary offense.

In December, she pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after being caught drinking beer in a Shaler park, the Post-Gazette reported.

Defense attorney Ralph Karsh told the PG his client was swept up in situations that involved other people who were doing wrong. 

"My sister was loved by so many people," said Glaser. "She just got scared."

Visitation for Sara Glaser is from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m.Thursday at McCabe Funeral home, 6214 Walnut St. in Shadyside.

A funeral mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Maria Goretti Church, 300 Edmond St. in Friendship.