People in a Steuben County town are mourning the loss of four friends who were killed in a crash over the weekend.
It happened Saturday on County Route 76 in Pulteney. According to investigators, the vehicle went off the road and hit a tree.
“They were good people, always fun to be around and always good laughs and whatnot,” said Chad Yeoman, a friend of the victims.
Deputies identified victims as:
- Korbie Higgins, 28, of Bath
- Coy Miner, 26, of Hammondsport
- Adam Bellamy, 29, of Pulteney
- Nicole Wise, 25, of Prattsburgh
Friends say Higgins lived an extraordinary life and always had a smile.
Anna Simpson, a friend of Higgins, said, “Well Korbie was, you know, the life of the room, didn’t matter where she entered. You knew she was there; you knew she just had a presence about her that she could light up the room.”
Simpson placed the cross at the memorial site in Pulteney so people would have a place to express their grief.
“I wanted a place where people could go to, and it wasn’t just about Korbie, it was about all of the members in that accident, you know the families need a place to go to until they can get through,” she said.
Sean Gachter, a friend of crash victim Ballamy said he saw him right before the tragedy.
“I was with Adam about an hour before the crash, said goodnight to him and said, 'See you tomorrow,'" said Gachter. “He lived life the way you should, and he enjoyed every moment of life."
The death of these four young people is on the minds of many in the community.
Chad Yeoman added, “Everybody is thinking about them, keep their head high until we meet again.”
“It’s going to take a while to get over such a tragic loss,” Gachter said.
Dustin Drake, 30, of Prattsburgh was also hurt in the crash. He was treated at a Rochester area hospital and has since been released.