SRU freshman, 19, dies in one-car accident

A freshman at Slippery Rock University was killed in a one-vehicle accident early Monday evening.

Ashley Harmon, 19, was traveling north on I-79 when she lost control of her Dodge Neon and ran off the road into a few trees. The accident occurred around 6 p.m. in Findley Township, Mercer County, according to an information report from Pennsylvania State Police.

Harmon was an environmental geo-science major at SRU. She had a 4.0 GPA, making her a member of the Dean's List. She was also involved in the SRU Army ROTC program and was a member of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.

Funeral services for Harmon will be held Friday at 1 p.m. at J. Bradley McGonigle Funeral Home and Crematory on East State Street in Sharon, Pa., where Harmon was from.

Elle Naughton, a junior secondary education English major, had known Harmon since last summer.

"She was a great friend who was always there for me," she said.

Naughton said Harmon would have made a large impact on the world. 

"She would have gone so far in life, she was truly on her way to great success," she said. "I never saw her without a smile on her face and she could always bring one to mine. I will never forget her."

Jack Hill Jr., a junior computer information technology major at SRU, met Harmon early last semester.

"[Harmon] and her roommate were carrying cases of water to their building and I was walking by so I helped them," he said. "After that, we were friends."

Hill said Harmon was always very welcoming.

"She was very smart, nice, hard-working and kind-hearted," he said.

Lyndsie Yochum, a sophomore psychology and biology major, said she was introduced to Harmon about two months ago.

"I met her through my boyfriend's roommate," she said. "She came over to hang out with us one night."

Yochum said even though she didn't know Harmon very well, she could tell she was a people person.

"She talked to us like she knew us for years," she said. "She was cracking jokes like crazy even though she just met us. She seemed like the type of person who would fit in anywhere she went."