Couple killed in crash on way to their wedding



BERKS COUNTY, Pa. – A New Jersey couple were killed in a crash while they were driving to their wedding in Pennsylvania on Wednesday.

Kathryn Schurtz, 35, of Fanwood, and her fiancé Joseph D. Kearney, were killed when a tractor-trailer collided with their car on Interstate 78 in Berks County, Pennsylvania, according to Schurtz's obituary.

The tractor-trailer was traveling at a high rate of speed on the highway and was unable to stop for the traffic ahead, hitting the couple's stopped car in front and pushing it into the rear of another tractor-trailer on impact, according to state police. The chain reaction involved five tractor-trailers and the one passenger vehicle the couple were driving in, causing their vehicle and two other trucks to catch on fire, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

The crash caused the highway to be completely shut down for over four hours, police said.  Three other people, including the driver of the tractor-trailer, were injured.

According to the town of Fanwood Facebook page, the bride-to-be was the daughter of former councilwoman Karen Schurtz.

"She will be remembered for her voracious appetite for reading, love of cooking, and trailblazing new adventures with Joseph," Schurtz's obituary said. 

Schurtz resided in Jersey City and worked as head of platform partnerships for Oracle Data Cloud in New York City. Visitation will be held Monday and Tuesday, following a Mass, in Scotch Plains.

Officials did not immediately release information about Kearney.

A state trooper who was on scene of the crash said he was surprised the driver has not been charged yet. The condition of the driver was not immediately known.