Abigail Osborn's brother: 'I miss my sister dearly'
About a week before her death, 16-year-old Abigail Osborn got her first car, a Chevrolet Prism.
Her brother, Brad Stover, a private first class in the Army, said he had found the car, bought it and fixed a few things on it. His parents then bought the car from him to give to Abigail.
He and Abigail met at the notary April 18 to transfer the car, and she took him to work afterward, smiling and giggling, he said. When she dropped him off, he told her to be safe and have fun. She said she would and that she loved him.
That "I love you" will never leave his mind, Stover wrote in correspondence with the York Daily Record Monday night, just hours after his sister died from injuries she suffered in a hit-and-run crash over the weekend. He said he can still hear those words.
"I miss my sister dearly, but we will see each other again," he said. "I love you Abby."
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Abigail, who was a junior at Northeastern High School, had been struck by a vehicle over the weekend and left unconscious along the 3400 block of York Haven Road, near a driveway to her home, police said. Police were called to the scene around 1:04 a.m. Sunday, and she was flown to Penn State Hershey Medical Center.
Stover said the family does not know what she was doing at the time of the crash. She had been in her room when her parents went to bed earlier in the evening, and they didn't know of any plans she had to go out.
She died at the hospital on Monday afternoon. Her organs were being donated to help others, her brother said.
Police have charged David Michael Kent Jr., 24, of the first block of Susquehanna Avenue in York Haven, with accidents involving death or personal injury, failing to stop and render aid and failing to notify police about an accident.
Newberry Township Police Chief John Snyder said Tuesday that police are continuing to investigate the case. At the conclusion of the investigation, police will confer with the York County District Attorney's Office to see if the charges warrant amending.
Abigail was recently named one of the Distinguished Young Women of York County. She was a distinguished honor roll student, volunteered as a Spanish tutor and played on the high school soccer team.
Before every game, Abigail would gather the team around her and get them pumped up and ready to play, said her teammate Emma Sadowski, a Northeastern junior. She’d jump up and down, smack her fists together and talk about what the team needed to do to win.
She wasn’t a captain, Sadowski said, but there’s no question she was a leader. She was very aggressive, and at times, sassy on the field. As a starting midfielder and defender, she was one of the most hard-working players on the team.
“She was a role model for a lot of kids,” Sadowski said. “She was very bold, and she definitely did lead us with her energy.”
Abigail loved the game, and she played through every injury she got. Once, she almost broke her ankle during a game, but told her coach she wanted to stay on the field.
“She always, always, always put the game first and put the team first and was always willing to work her butt off,” Sadowski said. “Soccer season is not going to be the same without her.”
School board president Margie Walker said Monday evening that everyone is in shock and that Northeastern has great students and they all pull together. They rallied for Abigail on Monday, wearing flannel shirts and Converse sneakers, which was her signature style. On Tuesday, students wore tie dye, which she also liked.
"She could pull off a flannel and Converse like it was nobody's business," said her friend Megan Hlodash, a Northeastern senior. She wore Converse to almost every school dance and even rocked a pair of black Converse with her red dress at Northeastern's prom on Friday. "She always dressed in different clothing that no one else could pull off."
The student body also gathered for a picture outside of the school on Monday in support of Abigail.
It's a big, huge family, Walker said of the district. Abigail's mother is a teacher at the intermediate school.
"It's just tragic," she said.
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Stover described his sister as an intelligent, beautiful woman. She loved to be outside playing soccer or swimming in the pool. She was creative. Stover wrote about how when they were younger, he, Abby, and their sister, Emily, built a fort out of tarps in the woods.
"We made it like a little home of our own," he said.
His sister also loved going to their grandparents' house along the bay in Delaware. They built sandcastles on the beach together.
She was an amazing person, Stover said. She had her life on track and was looking to join the Navy.
Her friends said they'll remember Abigail as upbeat, spunky and always smiling.
"She was really something special," Hlodash said. "Even if you'd pass her in the hallway, she'd try to make you feel welcome. She always wanted everyone to smile."
Abigail loved to sing, and she was involved in chorus and all of the high school musicals, her friends said. Last year, she played a seagull in Northeastern's production of "The Little Mermaid," and this year, she played a nun and a hooker in "Sister Act."
"She was the best seagull ever," Hlodash said. "She always got in character. Even though she was in the background, she always played like she was the lead."
Abigail was a good friend, Hlodash said. The kind of friend people felt comfortable talking to because they knew she wouldn't judge. She had a way of making people smile, and there was never a dull moment when she was around.
She'd make beats on the table so her friends could dance and sing along, or she'd tell funny stories and laugh.
Sadowski will never forget the big smile Abigail had on her face while she was dancing at Friday's prom, she said. She loved to dance, and she was good at it. Everyone danced with her because they knew she was fun to be around.
"When she's dancing and with friends, just smiling and laughing, I think that's always going to be the way I remember her," Sadowski said.