JERSEY CITY, New Jersey -- A New Jersey couple on the way to their wedding was killed in a fiery crash in Pennsylvania last week.
Officials in Union County, New Jersey, say Kathryn Schurtz and her fiance Joseph Kearney died as a result of the multi-vehicle crash on I-78 in Berks County last Wednesday.
State Police say a tractor-trailer ran into the back of a car, sparking the deadly chain reaction-crash involving five commercial vehicles and the passenger car.
The couple was on their way to Kearney's hometown of Pittsburgh for their ceremony.
According to her obituary, the 35-year-old Schurtz resided in Jersey City. She was employed as the head of platform partnerships for Oracle Data Cloud in New York City.
She grew up in Fanwood, New Jersey, and graduated from Union Catholic High School in Scotch Plains in 2001. She attended George Washington University, where she received her liberal arts degree and went on to earn her MBA from Notre Dame.
"She will be remembered for her voracious appetite for reading, love of cooking, and trailblazing new adventures with Joseph," her obituary reads.
She is survived by her parents, Joseph and Karen; her sister, Kimberly; her sister and brother-in-law, Joanne and Kevin Schwoer, and her 3-month-old nephew, Landon Schwoer.
Schurtz's mother was a former councilwoman in Fanwood.
The Council of the Borough of Fanwood issued the following statement on their Facebook page:
"Our hearts go out to former Fanwood Councilwoman Karen Schurtz who lost her daughter and future son-in-law in a car accident on their way to their wedding this past week...We are so very sorry."
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