54°
Nicole Benzenhafer was driving home from work around 10:15 p.m. when her SUV was struck by a man who was reportedly driving 80 mph and running stop signs in the 700 block of Queen Street, according to WFMZ and local authorities.
The impact was so severe, it sent her SUV flying across the road and into a woman’s backyard, Rachael Jones wrote on a GoFundMe campaign.
Crews worked to free Benzhafer, who ended up pinned in the vehicle.
Despite efforts by emergency responders, she was pronounced dead at approximately 11:30 pm. at Reading Hospital, Jones said.
The "reckless" driver was left with no life-threatening injuries and is expected to make a full recovery.
A GoFundMe campaign has been launched for Benzenhafer's funeral services and her son, who is three and a half weeks shy of turning 11.
The page had raised nearly $11,000 as of Thursday afternoon.
Benzenhafer was remembered as someone who was "one of a kind, authentic, and hardworking," her best friend, Alyssa Gephart told Daily Voice. "She worked two jobs."
"If you were lucky enough to be loved by her, she loved you with all of her heart," she added.
Cecilia Sutton, a close friend, and coworker echoed Gephart's sentiments saying she was "loving and had a huge heart."
"She was a fantastic mother and would've moved mountains for her son," Sutton told Daily Voice.
Loved ones have also started a Change.org petition urging local officials to implement new safe-driving measures in order to avoid any future fatalities.
"The streets of Pottstown are getting to be a dangerous place thanks to reckless drivers (among other issues)," organizer Elizabeth Devenny writes.
"Enough is enough- something needs to be done."
Click here to donate to the GoFundMe campaign.
Click here to sign the Change.org petition.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Lower Paxton and receive free news updates.
