Butler Co. Woman Struck, Killed By Vehicle On Tenn. Highway
JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- A Butler County woman died after being struck by a vehicle on a Tennessee highway.
Sarah Kasunic, 23, loved life and wanted to travel and explore the world after graduating from high school and college. That's exactly what she did before going to Tennessee to work in her chosen profession, nursing.
Her father said her two passions were to travel and to help people.
"She's been to numerous countries, from Europe to in Asia, Morocco in Africa. She wanted to first go to Tennessee. This was her first travel assignment," Tom Kasunic told KDKA News Tuesday night.
"I know she had a very personal connection to being a nurse through our grandmother. So then in high school, her mind was set on it, and she knew that she was gonna go to [Butler County Community College] and she was gonna be in the top 10 percent of her class," her sister, Julie Kasunic, said.
Over the weekend, the Butler County native was involved in a highway crash in Tennessee. She and a 38-year-old woman who stopped to help her were struck by an oncoming vehicle. The Good Samaritan who stopped died at the scene. Sarah died later at a hospital, and her family then had to make a very difficult decision concerning her wish to give the gift of life.
"It was a very challenging decision for our family, but we've since found it extremely rewarding by honoring her wishes. We found out that the heart is going to a 10-year-old girl in Michigan, which has really meant a lot to us," brother Nicholas Kasunic explained.
Friends have set up a GoFundMe account to help pay funeral costs. Any additional money will go toward a scholarship fund for needy nursing students that Sarah herself had initiated years ago.
"[The scholarship is] to continue her legacy and how involved she was with nursing and helping other people," family friend Matt Wilson said.
Police in Tennessee are continuing their investigation into the fatal crash. No charges have been filed.