Vigil held for 19-year-old victim of hit-and-run in Lower Southampton

TREVOSE, Pa. (WTXF) - Around 100 people gathered to remember the life of a young woman killed in a hit-and-run in Bucks County. They came together to share the memories of 19-year-old Jessica Kurtz.

Kurtz was walking with a friend and crossing Street Road in Trevose November 27 when they were hit by a pickup truck. Kurtz's friend is recovering.

"She is way too young to be taken from us," Karen Kurtz, Jessica's mom, said at the candlelight vigil, honoring her daughter.

The pickup truck involved has been found, but the driver is still missing.

"I pray for him, that he'll do the right thing and step forward. I understand, I'm sure he panicked. I don't know how I'd feel if I had taken the life of a young individual. So I pray for him, and, like I said, I have no ill will towards him at all," Kurtz said.

Family and friends remembered a bubbly, friendly young woman who graduated from Bensalem High School in June. When Malcom McCann moved here from Chicago, he remembers Jessica in school as approachable.

"She was more than a friend to me. Jess meant a lot to me. I loved her, a lot," McCann said.

And, for friend Serenity McDaniel, it was Jessica's sense of humor that will be remembered.

"She was always making people laugh. And, such a nice person," McDaniel said.

Jessica made her mom, Karen, laugh when Jessica explained one reason she joined ROTC.

"This is the funny part. She said, 'Mom, I just rocked that cammo,'" Kurtz said.

The decision to join ROTC surprised Karen.

"She was one of the most meek and shyest and humblest of ROTC people. I thought, oh boy, if she gets hollered at, she's gonna cry, cause that's how she was. She was just so sweet to everyone," Kurtz explained.

Jessica's ambition, though, was to help people. Just telling her sister at Thanksgiving of her plans to become a nurse. It was a perfect fit.

"There were many instances where she was my rock. Even though the age difference was about three years and she was the younger, she was always the one who was there for me," said Maxine Kurtz.

And, Jessica's former Girl Scout leader had a heartfelt comment many at the vigil were thinking.

"There's a void. And, it's felt by everyone that's here. We'll miss her terribly,"