EVANS CITY, Pa. — Crews worked for more than four hours on Route 68 in Forward Township on Friday after a crash near Buhl Road. State police said Kathryn McGown, 69, and Marcia Carnahan, 80, died on the scene.
RELATED COVERAGE >>> 2 women killed in head-on crash in Forward Township
“I loved Kathy as if she was part of my family,” said Attorney Nicole Thurner.
Thurner worked with McGown for several years.
“Kathryn was a wonderful mentor for me,” Thurner told Channel 11’s Andrew Havranek. “I met her in 2014 when I was clerking for one of the judges in Butler. She took me under her wing, she looked out for me, she was somebody who I really could count on while I was trying to develop my own practice.”
Thurner said McGown was a big advocate in the juvenile law system and said her death in Friday’s crash was a shock to the Butler County law community.
“She served the population of clientele who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford hiring a private attorney, so she really gave back to the community in that sense, and for many, many years,” she said.
Troopers said McGown was driving a Jeep and crossed the center lines into oncoming traffic. Police said she then hit Carnahan head on. McGown, police said, was not wearing a seatbelt.
Carnahan was the co-founder of the group “Save Slippery Rock Creek.”
The organization posted on Facebook saying Carnahan started the group to fight against a cold-mix asphalt plant proposed to be built across from her home near the creek.
The statement on Facebook reads in part:
“She truly embodied the spirit of local activism and care for the environment that transcends generations.
In honoring her memory, we commit to carrying forward Marcia’s work—to preserve the natural beauty of Slippery Rock Creek and to continue advocating for the health and safety of the people who call this community home."
Thurner said her thoughts and prayers are with both of the victims’ families.
“You have to remember who the people are and try to live your life in dedication to that and carry on the separate passions that they had,” she said.
State police said the accident is still under investigation.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
