While many Shippensburg University students were enjoying the Labor Day weekend with their families, two former students, Amanda DiGirolomo and Corey Hunt, passed away in separate incidents on the morning of Sept. 7.
DiGirolomo, 25, died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania when a taxi driver hit her and Bryan Botti near city hall. The driver was traveling at approximately 50 miles per hour in a 25 mph zone, according to a witness's estimation, reported ABC 6.
Police officers arrived at Broad and Arch streets shortly after 4:30 a.m. and pronounced DiGirolomo dead at the scene, while Botti died at a hospital.
Though the Philadelphia Police have not confirmed the driver was speeding, the 41-year-old cab driver struck the two pedestrians with such a force that caused them to be hurled roughly 100 feet from the cab, according to ABC 6.
The two are believed to have been in the city to attend the Made In America festival.
DiGirolomo, originally from Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, graduated from SU with a bachelor's degree in exercise science and a dual minor in biology and psychology, according to her Facebook page.
Hunt, 25, passed away from an ongoing battle with synovial sacroma, which is a rare form of cancer that usually starts in the arms or the legs. Hunt was battling the disease for approximately five years.
According to posts on youcaring.com, an online fundraising site, Hunt overcame his cancer, but it eventually returned and nearly took his life in July 2015.
"On July 17th, we were told that Corey would probably not make it through the night, let alone the weekend," stated a post on the blog, under the username Teodora Simu.
To the surprise of friends and family he did survive the night, and in early August he posted that he was on his feet and generally healthier.
Despite his improvements, Hunt died peacefully in the presence of family, according to a Facebook post by his mother, Michelle Laspino-Hunt.
"We are asking everyone to please respect our privacy right now, and we will post information as it becomes available," she posted.
Throughout the course of Hunt's battle with cancer he received so many chemotherapy sessions that he reached the limit of being able to undergo any more treatments due to the damage it could cause to his organs.
Hunt took geoenvironmental studies and geographic information system courses at SU and was a member of the university's football team.
The Slate welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic. Read our full guidelines here.