EXCELSIOR - Janine Woodley had a lifetime of memories to recount Tuesday as she coped with the loss of her friend, Sheena (Camp) Picarella.
Picarella, 51, of 69 E. Independence St., Shamokin, was identified by police as the woman who died when she was thrown from a pickup truck after it slid on an icy bridge on Route 901 near here and crashed over a steep embankment Monday night.
Another person in the vehicle, Gary Cassilli, 49, of Shamokin, was also ejected in the 8:30 p.m. crash, Coal Township police said. Cassilli was transported to Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, where he was listed in fair condition Tuesday evening.
It is not known who was driving as police continue their investigation.
'Natural beauty'
Woodley said the first thing that comes to mind when she thinks of Picarella was her beauty.
"She had natural beauty; she turned heads everywhere," said Woodley, of Coal Township.
While Picarella was older, Woodley, who is 45, said their families hung out together when they were children.
"She was my brother's first girlfriend," when they were just kids, she recalled with a laugh.
Their paths crossed again when Picarella, who was the bartender, hired Woodley to work at the Bum Steer in downtown Shamokin in the mid-1980s.
Their children would also share time together growing up, and Woodley recalled going to each other's homes for Fourth of July parties. They watched the city's fireworks display from behind the laundromat downtown, which was owned by Picarella and her husband, David L., 60, who died Aug. 10 at age 60.
She also said Picarella once worked at the former Spy 95 radio in Shamokin and for WISL after that.
"She was very proud of that time," she said.
Coroner's report
Northumberland County Coroner James F. Kelley reported Tuesday that
Picarella died of blunt force trauma to the head and neck. The death was ruled accidental.
According to Jonathan Dupnock, of Excelsior, who witnessed the crash, the truck was traveling east on Route 901 when it slid sideways as it came onto a concrete bridge at a slight curve in the road. It was likely in the process of flipping over as it went across the road and struck the top of the westbound guard rail with its roof, Dupnock recalled.
It traveled another 70 feet east and went 20 feet down the embankment before it came to rest on its side against two small trees.
Cassilli had been located by Dupnock about 20 feet from the truck. However, the extreme damage to the truck and its precarious position against the trees made it difficult at first for emergency personnel to determine if Picarella was still inside. A ground search for her started, while Coal Township First Assistant Fire Chief Mike Timco attempted to search the vehicle.
At 9 p.m., approximately 30 minutes after the crash, Picarella was found in brush approximately 40 feet further east from the truck.
A wintry mix was present in the area Monday night, with sidewalks, driveways and roads icing up as early as 6 p.m.
Second tragedy at bridge
Last winter, emergency personnel would canvass that same area as part of another tragedy.
It was Feb. 6 when Deborah Demshock, 42, who lived just east of the bridge in a home on the west side of the highway, was reported missing by her mother when she didn't return home from work at Grandview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center near Danville. On Feb. 12, authorities would find Demshock's body in her crashed SUV down a 50-foot embankment on the other side of Route 901 from where Monday night's crash occurred. Her cause of death was listed as hypothermia due to the accident, but with a contributory condition of diabetes mellitus, which authorities believe caused her to lose control of her vehicle just a short distance from her home.
Tough times
Woodley said tough times had befallen the Picarellas several years ago when Dave became ill. They had to sell the laundromat to pay his medical bills, and they would eventually lose everything.
Woodley said the last she had seen Sheena was about two years ago at Snapper's bar in Shamokin. She hadn't been out much at all because of her husband's illness, and she was crying about their tough situation. That's when a man listening in pulled a $100 bill out of his pocket and gave it to Sheena.
"I have goosebumps thinking about it right now," Woodley said. "I don't remember his name, but it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen."