Chalk Hill teen succumbs to crash injuries
A Chalk Hill teen, hospitalized since he was involved in a car crash in Wharton Township recently, has died.
Zack Nelson, 17, who had been on life support in critical condition at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va., died shortly after midnight Friday.
Nelson was one of six teenagers involved in a single-vehicle crash at 11 p.m. Sept. 10 at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington.
Tom Colebank, former principal at Uniontown Area High School, said that Nelson, who would have been a senior this year, was a well-liked, well-rounded student who had a passion for golf.
“He was on the team at Uniontown, and he loved to golf with his brother and father,” he said.
Colebank said he knew Nelson since he was a young boy when Colebank and Nelson’s father, Dan Nelson, shared an office together in the Albert Gallatin Area School District years ago. Dan Nelson is currently the buildings and grounds director at Albert Gallatin.
“Anytime you lose a student, it’s a very tragic event for staff and students alike,” Colebank said. “It’s even more tragic for me having known this family for so long and knowing how they are just a great family. It’s a tremendous loss for a lot of people. Prayers and wishes from everyone here at Uniontown go out to his family and his friends.”
On Tuesday, the 17-year-old driver was charged in Fayette County Juvenile Court with drunken driving and two counts of aggravated assault while DUI.
Fayette County District Attorney Jack R. Heneks Jr. said that as a result of Nelson’s death, the driver was charged Friday afternoon with homicide by vehicle and homicide by vehicle while DUI.
The driver’s name has not been officially released because he is a minor and has not been charged as an adult.
The adjudication of the case will be open to the public once it is in the court system.
Police said there were six teens in the car when it hit a tree on Hardy Boulevard. One of them was identified as Paige Hardy, 16, daughter of 84 Lumber Co. and Nemacolin Woodlands Resort founder Joe Hardy. She suffered serious injuries in the crash and remains hospitalized.
The other teens in the car — identified as a 15-year-old Farmington girl and 15- and-16-year-old Uniontown girls — did not sustain serious injuries, police said.
Staff writer Carla DeStefano contributed to this report.