SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT - A Paxinos man killed Wednesday in a fatal crash in Lycoming County was mourned Thursday by family, friends and members of an organization to which he was highly devoted - Boy Scouts of America.
David E. Stefanovige, 22, was killed in a head-on collision about 6 p.m. Wednesday along Route 15 in Armstrong Township.
Employed since late July as a district executive for the Scouts' Susquehanna Council, Stefanovige was driving to a Scout meeting.
John Brennan, the council's Scout executive, said Stefanovige had chartered a new Cub Scout Pack in Sunbury earlier this week.
On Wednesday, he had been running late for the 6 p.m. meeting. "He said, 'I'm on my way,' " Brennan said of a phone conversation Stefanovige had with a meeting attendee.
However, when the meeting ended at 8 p.m., Stefanovige had still not arrived, which was unusual. Brennan said he and others had called repeatedly, trying to get in touch with the young man.
Hours later, they learned he was killed.
Heavy rain
According to state police at Montoursville, Stefanovige was driving a Honda Civic south when he lost control of his vehicle in Wednesday's heavy rain storms, crossing into the northbound lane and striking a Honda Odyssey broadside.
The Odyssey's driver was identified by troopers as 62-year-old Philip R. Reck, of York, who was taken to The Williamsport Hospital for treatment and later transferred to Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, where he was listed in fair condition Thursday by a nursing supervisor.
Stefanovige was pronounced dead at the scene by Lycoming County Assistant Coroner Gerald Ross, troopers said.
Eagle Scout, SAHS grad
Stefanovige, a son of Glenn and Sandy Stefanovige, of Paxinos, was a 2007 graduate of Shamokin Area Junior-Senior High School and 2011 graduate of Susquehanna University, where he studied mass communications and was technical director at WQSU-FM, campus radio.
He had earned his way to Eagle Scout and the Order of the Arrow, the Scouts' national honor society. He was assistant Scout leader for Troop 250 Paxinos.
Mike Shevitski, Troop 250's Scout master and whose 15-year-old son, Ryan, is a member, was emotional Thursday when discussing Stefanovige, whom he'd known the past five years.
Shevitski said their paths first crossed when he transferred to Clarks Grove United Methodist Church, where Stefanovige was a member and also a Scout. He also was involved in the church's annual Easter service at the cross atop Paxinos Mountain.
They were together Sunday at a Scouting event in New Berlin.
"He was the heart of our Troop," Shevitski said. "He was an excellent mentor for any Scout."
Shevitski looked back on a birthday party held for Stefanovige, his 21st. "It was overwhelming how many people stood up to speak on his behalf," he said.
Involved at SU
While at Susquehanna, he was student manager at the Office of Information Technology, was an engineer and technician at the university TV studio, operated the university's Jumbo Tron at the football field and belonged to the Alumni Board. He was a member of the executive committee of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity.
Noting Stefanovige's dedication not just to Scouting, but to anything he was involved in, Shevitski said he was most upset that Stefanovige would no longer be around to have a positive impact on the lives of younger Scouts and the adults with whom he worked.
Candlelight vigil planned
A candlelight vigil is being organized to celebrate Stefanovige's life. It will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday in the student parking lot of Shamokin Area Junior-Senior High School. Attendees are asked to bring candles due to the short notice, along with photographs or other memoribilia that will be collected and presented to his family. Also, attendees are encouraged to share a poem or memory during the vigil.