FAIRVIEW TOWNSHIP -- Students and staff at Crestwood High School are mourning the death of a high school senior.
The teen was killed Thursday afternoon when his car was involved in a head-on collision in the Mountain Top area.
People who knew and worked with Mateusz Szymczak say they are heartbroken.
Police in Mountain Top say the investigation will take weeks but they think that speed and even sun glare may have been factors in that deadly crash.
Outside King's Restaurant along Route 309 in Mountain Top, there's a sign in a memory of a beloved coworker. Inside, friends say they are still shock.
Mateusz Szymczak, 18, was killed in a crash as he was driving to work.
"Great attitude, smile every day, brighten up a room, just always wants to help people, do anything for anybody,” said Russell Keiderlang.
Fairview Township police tell Newswatch 16 that the wreck happened right around sunset on Route 437. Officers say Szymczak was thrown from the driver’s seat of the car and died.
The driver of the minivan, Marisa Orloski of Mountain Top, is still in the hospital in critical condition.
Administrators at Crestwood High School say grief counselors were called in to talk with students and staff who knew the senior.
Szymczak just turned 18 one week ago.
Back at King's Restaurant coworkers say Szymczak was more like a son than an employee. He was on the school's soccer team and was planning on flying to Poland with his mother next week to spend the holidays with family.
"Great guy, great kid, not enough words to say about Matty. It’s a tragedy,” said Pasquale Colandrea at King's Restaurant.
Instead of flying to Poland, friends say Szymczak's family now has to plan for a funeral.
Police say they are still investigating and it appears that the teenage driver was not wearing a seatbelt.