Young mother dies while helping a friend deliver newspapers
PITTSGROVE – A Camden County woman helping a friend deliver newspapers died in an early-morning crash here.
Kayla Dowling, 26, a Blackwood woman with a 4-year-old daughter, was fatally injured when her friend’s car collided with a dump truck in a Pittsgrove intersection, according to New Jersey State Police.
It was at least the third fatal crash in South Jersey in recent days. Accidents also killed a motorist in Gloucester City and a bicyclist in Cherry Hill, police said.
Dowling's friend, a 24-year-old Camden resident, sustained serious injuries in the crash around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday.
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The victim’s car was traveling northbound on Centerton Road, while the dump truck was westbound on Garden Road, police said.
Police reported no injuries to the truck's driver.
The accident remains under investigation.
An obituary described Dowling as “a vibrant soul who brought joy and love to everyone around her.
It said Dowling graduated from Woodbury High School, where she was a cheerleader and prom queen.
She worked at Wawa and Without Walls Child Care, the obituary said.
A GoFundMe campaign that seeks to cover funeral expenses for Dowling's family had raised more than $14,000 by Friday afternoon.
In other accidents, an elderly bicyclist was fatally struck on Route 70 east of Cuthbert Boulevard in Cherry Hill around 9:15 p.m. Oct. 9.
The victim was Michael Smyth, 76, of Pennsauken.
The motorist involved in the accident remained at the scene and has cooperated with an ongoing investigation, police said.
Also, a driver died on Interstate 76 in Gloucester City around 12:40 a.m. Oct. 12, according to state police.
Additional details were not immediately available.
Police previously reported a fatal accident in Barrington, where Rhonda Barela, a 65-year-old pedestrian, was struck on the 300 block of White Horse Pike around 6:45 a.m. on Sept. 29.
One day later, a 68-year-old motorist was fatally injured in a 9:40 p.m. collision at Route 73 and Cross Keys Road in Berlin Borough.
The victim, Marvin Worthington, died at a hospital on Sept. 30.
The accident occurred after another motorist ran a red light and hit Worthington's car, police said.
This story may be updated.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Kayla Downing remembers as mother of a 4-year-old and 'a vibrant soul'
