SOUTH STRABANE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Roughly three dozen cars gathered at the Beau Street Park and Ride in South Strabane on Monday to travel a few miles down the road to the crash site on East Maiden Street that claimed the lives of two 17-year-olds.
“Nevaeh’s family being involved in the truck scene, I figured why not get us all together and have this special moment,” family friend Chad Snedeker said.
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“She was like the only thing that I had left,” said Christa Bolen, the mother of Nevaeh Sheets, who was killed in the crash.
Bolen said her daughter wasn’t just her child, she was her best friend.
“She was my twin, she was everything that kept me motivated,” said Bolen.
Bolen buried her son, Sheets’ younger brother, just a few years ago. She said her daughter had given her a reason to go on.
“I would always say, ‘Nevaeh, I’m only here for you,’ and she’d say, ‘Mom, I’d never leave you, like we are locked in, I’ll always be here for you,’” Bolen said.
The mother and daughter duo were making plans, too. Sheets had just gotten her first car. She was set to graduate next year and was pursuing a cosmetology license.
She also was planning for prom with her longtime boyfriend, Justin Crawford, the other victim in the crash.
“She was ready to go to prom, she and Justin were going to go, they were going to wear blue and black,” explained Bolen.
Bolden says Sheets loved makeup, while Crawford enjoyed everything cars and the two were inseparable.
“She’d say, ‘Mom, he is the piece to my pie,’” Bolen recalled.
Friends spoke to Channel 11, remembering the pair.
“She’ll do anything to just be there for people. She would always be there for people,” classmate Chloe Crowe said.
“He was great. He was a good person. He always had a goofy smile,” Gia Molinaro said.
On Saturday night, it was no surprise they were together. Bolen said Crawford’s flag football game had ended earlier in the evening and the two were on their way to a friend’s house.
But just after 11 p.m., emergency crews received calls of a single-vehicle crash on East Maiden Street. When they arrived, they found Crawford’s car had veered off the road and slammed into a tree, killing both him and Sheets.
The skid marks are still visible on the road two days later, but the tree is covered with cards, flowers, and stuffed animals from friends and family who knew the teens best.
Bolen said it’s a small tribute to a girl who was her entire world.
“I don’t even know what I am going to do without her because now I don’t have [either] of my kids now,” Bolen said.
“You’ll forever be, maybe not by us physically, but you’ll always be with us, watching over,” another friend said.
Friends of the family have started a GoFundMe to raise money for the families of both victims. To donate, click here.
South Strabane Township’s Fire Department is also set to host a Bingo fundraiser on Saturday, March 18, at 172 Oak Spring Road in Washington. Doors will open at 4 p.m.
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