Counselors at school after student killed in interstate crash

A local high school is in mourning after a student was killed on Interstate 77 Monday afternoon.

Nearly a dozen grief counselors were at Nation Ford High School Tuesday helping everyone there cope with the loss.

Many of them met students in the parking lot as they arrived at school.

Some students gathered at the flag pole to pray and remember 17-year-old Gwen Spencer.

Chester County Coroner Terry Tinker said Spencer was driving back from Charleston, when
troopers said she veered off I-77 into a tree.

There was no one else in the car and she died at the scene.

Jane Liotta was one of nearly a dozen counselors at Nation Ford Tuesday.

"It's just a very sad time for the whole school," Liotta said.

Spencer was a senior at Nation Ford and a nationally ranked volleyball player.

Liotta said the hardest part was seeing the pain students are feeling.

"They don't know what to do with it. Their grief. We want to show them that we love them, and are there to help them," she said.

Some counselors met one on one with students, others met in groups.

At least two counselors sat in on all Spencer's classes Tuesday to help students who may have been closer to her.

It was a team effort so the school could have as many resources as possible devoted to helping students who were hurting.

Late Tuesday, the Highway Patrol told Channel 9 they don't know why Spencer lost control of her SUV. The crash is under investigation.

On Monday night, principal Jason Johns sent an email to all Nation Ford parents.

Nation Ford parents,

Around 1:30 this afternoon, the Chester County Sheriff’s Department responded to an automobile accident on I-77. One of our seniors was driving north on I-77 when the vehicle went off the road and collided with a tree.

Our senior, the sole passenger, did not survive.

I have spoken to her parents and assured them that our thoughts and prayers are with them. As you can imagine they are completely devastated. I have not secured permission to share her name with our greater school family.

As I find out visitation and service arrangements, I will certainly let you know. I am certain the Nation Ford family that is working through this incredible loss would greatly covet your thoughts and your prayers. I am sending this to you because I wanted you to know first.

Tomorrow we will have trained grief counselors available for individuals or small groups. Please know that we will have all the resources available to us to come alongside our students as we grieve together. As we get more information, I will share that with you.

Counselors expect they may need even more people to help on Wednesday. That's because most of the senior class was off campus Tuesday doing career shadowing.

Those seniors will return to campus Wednesday, and counselors will be there to greet them.

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