‘It broke all our hearts’: Franklin Regional grad dies in Derry Township crash
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Jackie Bearley said the support her family received after the death of her 18-year-old son, Damian, has been overwhelming.
Damian Bearley died in a crash early Saturday morning after his car hit a deer in Derry Township, according to the Westmoreland County coroner.
The Murrysville teen was driving south on Route 982 at 3 a.m. when, investigators said, he hit a deer, crossed the opposite lane and slammed into a tree and utility pole. Speed is believed to have been a factor in the crash, the coroner said.
Damian, a 2021 graduate of Franklin Regional High School, was pronounced dead at the scene. State police said a 16-year-old female passenger was injured.
According to Jackie Bearley, the girl — another Franklin Regional student — was released from UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and is “doing fine.”
“Everybody that met him or knew him said he was very respectful (and a) hard worker,” Jackie Bearley said of Damian. “(He was always) one of the first kids to get up and help.”
Damian grew up playing ice hockey for the Franklin Regional Hockey Club and Allegheny Badgers Association until 10th grade, when he turned to skateboarding with his friends and dabbled in BMX with his older brother, Zach.
However, “(his) passion was really his car,” Jackie said.
Jackie said Damian was a “huge car enthusiast” and loved going to cruises, shows and meets. The car involved in the crash was his third vehicle.
Damian worked at Osteria Pasqualino, an Italian restaurant in Murrysville, first as a dishwasher before being promoted to cook.
“We told him just stay there until you graduate, then you can pursue whatever you want to do,” Jackie Bearley said.
She said Damian would’ve either enlisted in the military or pursued a career in electrical technology or auto collision repair.
“(He) loved to do busy work with his hands,” Jackie Bearley said of Damian’s time spent with the Forbes Road Career & Technology Center through Franklin Regional.
Brianna Bearley, one of Damian’s sisters, said while he wasn’t at school much because of the program, “everyone still knew of him.”
Damian was known for driving his white Infiniti around Murrysville, Brianna said, and most people knew him with the car or by his “contagious smile and laugh.”
“He was a really kind kid,” Brianna said of her brother. “He was really loyal to all his friends.”
Brianna, also 18, graduated with Damian. Born 11 months apart, she and her brother often were mistaken for twins.
“Everyone always asked us if we were twins, (and) I had to tell (them) we weren’t,” Brianna said. “I liked being in the same grade as him. … We grew up at the same time, we grew up doing the same thing. … We grew up really close.”
Damian’s other sister, Gabby, said everyone always called him “D” for short.
“‘D’ was my person. He was my best friend,” Gabby, 16, said. “He always told me to be safe when saying goodbye to me.”
One of Jackie Bearley’s friends started a GoFundMe page for the Bearley family’s memorial expenses. It has garnered more than $32,000 in donations.
“I can’t find the words to tell everyone how grateful and thankful I am that they’re here for us,” Jackie Bearley said. “It’s beyond words. … I think what’s holding us together right now is having the outpouring of support from our friends and family.”
The family is overwhelmed by the donations, especially those from younger people.
“It broke all our hearts when we saw how much support and love they had for a kid they barely got to know,” Brianna said.
“That just makes us feel so good that he’s touched so many lives,” Jackie Bearley said. “I didn’t have life insurance on him because I didn’t expect my kid to die.”
Damian met his best friend — Kyler McCoy — through hockey. McCoy, of Murrysville, said Damian was “a brother” to him.
“He was … the hardest working man I’ve ever met — he put his all into everything that he loved to do,” said McCoy, a 2020 graduate of Franklin Regional. “He had a personal impact on my entire life … His beautiful smile and precious laugh was enough to brighten (anyone’s) day.”
Visitation will be from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at Alfieri Funeral Home in Wilmerding. A funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Mother of Sorrows Church in Murrysville before burial in Twin Valley Memorial Park in Delmont.
“Fill The Helmet Adult Pickup Sessions” will be held from 9 p.m. to 10:20 p.m. at Pittsburgh Ice Arena in New Kensington on Wednesday and Palmer Imaging Arena in Delmont on Friday to “help with funeral expenses,” according to a Pittsburgh Ice Arena news release.
Counseling and bereavement support services will be offered through Franklin Regional, according to a letter from Superintendent Gennaro Piraino.