Emily Morris was headed home to see her parents on Saturday when she was killed after a freak accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
A highway sign flew through her front windshield and hit her in the head. She was rushed to a hospital. On Monday, she died.
“The sadness and horrific nature of the accident is shocking,” said Emily’s boss, Mike Morsch. He is the Executive Editor at Montgomery Newspapers where Emily was in charge of the web sites for 16 different papers. She was also editor for the papers in Souderton and Perkasie.
“I’ve never seen her lose her temper,” said co-worker Carrie Compton. “She was kind, giving and so outgoing.”
Emily was taking that trip home to go on vacation with her parents. Her father, Wilson Morris, was wrestling with his grief and with this question:
“One thing we commented on was the senselessness of having a sign in the middle of the Turnpike that somebody could hit. Why wasn’t it on the side of the Turnpike?”
The accident happened when a truck coming from the other direction hit a traffic control construction sign on the concrete road divider. The sign flew across the median and into Emily’s car. A spokesman for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission told NBC10’s Terry Ruggles that when it comes to signage, it is “common practice to place on median barrier. . .We follow state and federal standards for placement of signs in construction zones.” Turnpike officials said the truck driver didn’t merely clip the sign, but swerved off the road and hit it.
“I don’t think I've ever felt as helpless of sad about a situation,” Morsch said.
Co-workers put a single red rose at Emily's work station in Fort Washington.
