BRIGHTON TOWNHIP (KDKA) — A Beaver County community is mourning the loss of a promising young student who was killed overnight in an accident along Interstate 376 near Brighton Township.

Carlee Houghtelin, 18, would have been a senior at Beaver Area High School this year; but she was killed in a violent crash just after midnight.

Police say Houghtelin was riding in a car a friend when Andrew Marvich, 23, hit the teenagers’ car, sending it rolling off the highway.

State police believe Marvich had been drinking. At this point, though, Marvich has only been charged with a traffic violation, while state police await toxicology reports.

School officials describe Houghtelin as a very active student who was involved in the school newspaper and the volleyball team.

“As a community, we grieve for and with the family at this point,” Beaver Area School Superintendent John Hansen told KDKA. “Our hearts go out to the Houghtelin family.”

The district is concerned about how the teenager’s friends, teammates and classmates will cope with her death; and although school isn’t in session, they’ve already made counseling available.

“Kids think everybody’s gonna live forever,” Hansen added. “It’s a shock to them obviously and puts them right in the middle of…that life is fragile.”

School guidance counselor Patti Gradisek said Houghtelin was a happy student. Gradisek added that some of Houghtelin’s volleyball teammates have already started thinking about ways to memorialize her.

“Carlee wore a pink strip in her hair,” Gradisek explained, “and they want to do that during volleyball season just in memory of her.”

The Beaver Area School District will have counselors on hand today and tomorrow.

RELATED LINKS:
Teenager Killed In Brighton Township Accident
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Beaver Area School District
Good Grief Center for Bereavement Support