Community Mourns Butler Co. Mom Killed In Head-On Crash
BUTLER (KDKA) -- A Butler County woman is dead; the innocent victim of a head-on crash allegedly caused by a man who police said was speeding, intoxicated and had a "death wish."
The tragedy has left the woman's neighbors and friends in a state of disbelief, and completely "devastated."
That's how best to describe the reaction of Beth Yost. She was a close friend of the victim, 36-year-old Hannah Swigart.
Yost told KDKA-TV News, "I don't understand why her life had to be taken. All I know is that she's up in heaven and God has a plan."
Yost described Swigart as a "great mother, and wife and very spiritual, too."
Swigart was on her way home from work Wednesday night when police said 38-year-old Michael Reid was speeding, intoxicated and driving on the wrong side of the highway when he smashed into Swigart's jeep.
Both Reid and Swigart were killed.
Not long before the accident, Butler Township Police got a call from Reid's ex-girlfriend who said that he was harassing her and she had PFA against him.
A police officer was at the girlfriend's home and took the telephone when Reid called just moments before the deadly crash.
The officer said he heard Reid say he was going to be dead by morning, adding that "we would be reading about it in the paper."
Neighbors Mark and Melissa Timblin live a few doors down from where Swigart lived with her husband, Joel, and their three children in a quiet neighborhood in the city of Butler.
Melissa said the accident left she and her husband "numb." The couple visited with Swigart's husband earlier Thursday to express their condolences.
State Police are continuing their investigation into the accident.
RELATED LINKS:
Police Investigating Head-On Crash As Intentional (6/19/14)
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