A mother of three who died in a crash along the North Scranton Expressway last week was laid to rest Monday in Lackawanna County.
A community came out to pay last respects to the woman who was well-known in the Clarks Summit area.
One of Karen Hoyt's three children will graduate from Abington Heights High School next month. Students there are in the middle of final exams, but so many of them wanted to support their friend and pay their respects to her mother that the school district made changes to its finals schedule.
The line outside the Church of St. Gregory in Clarks Green may be all the evidence you need to say Karen Hoyt had an impact on her community. Hundreds of people ended up filing into the church to say goodbye to Hoyt.
Hoyt was killed last week following a crash on the North Scranton Expressway.
"It was certainly a tragedy. When we heard the news we knew it was going to have an impact on the school community. The Hoyts have two children at the high school and a recent graduate. Three students, a lot of friends, a lot of networking through athletics. We knew there would be an impact on the community," said Abington Heights High School Principal Pam Murray.
She added the impact of Hoyt's death was devastating. So many students wanted to attend Hoyt's funeral, the school district changed the high school finals schedule and shuttled hundreds of students to the church.
The circumstances of Karen Hoyt's death are still under investigation. Police said last week that Hoyt and another man had just gotten out of their cars after a fender-bender along the North Scranton Expressway when they were hit by a third car.
Now, almost a week later, the community is rallying around the Hoyt family. The Abington Heights School District is making time for its students to mourn.
"It will be a long week for students with exams but we're trying to find a way for our students, faculty and staff to be there for our family and to support our school community," added Murray.
Scranton police are still investigating the crash that lead to Karen Hoyt's death. They said inspections still need to be done on all the vehicles involved, then charges may be filed.