Friend of New Jersey fatal crash victim fighting to change parking rules
MARLTON, New Jersey -- Tara Gerstenacker is now mourning the loss of her daughter, Tori.
"She was a great student, loved her family. She had a lot of things she wanted to do with her life," Tara Gerstenacker said.
Tori, 25, was a field engineer for Henkels & McCoy.
On September 28, she was crossing the busy Route 70 at Troth Road, in Marlton, at about 7:30 pm. She never made it home.
Her roommate, Jordan Ramaglia says when police notified her of Tori's death, she knew what happened right away.
"All they told me was that she was crossing. And when they told me that I knew exactly why she was crossing," said Ramaglia.
One month earlier, Gerstenacker received a parking notice sticker on the windshield of her company truck, a Ford F-150. The Delancey Place home owner's association was cracking down on its rule: no parking of commercial vehicles.
Gerstenacker started parking her car at a shopping center, about a half-mile from her condo. She would then walk across Route 70 towards her complex.
Ramaglia has since started a change.org petition with more than 5,000 signatures to reverse the HOA rule banning the parking of small commercial vehicles.
"I have to do this for her, in her honor, and get something done about it," says Ramaglia.
Sister station WPVI reached out to the homeowners association. A lawyer representing the company released this statement:
"We were saddened to hear of the tragic death of one of our residents, and our heartfelt condolences go out to her family and friends. At this time the association can make no further comment pending the completion of our investigation of this matter," said George Greatrex, who is representing the Delancey Place Condominium Association.
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