Tragedy struck the ARM industry on Friday when Jack Nicholson, the 16-year-old son of Donna Nicholson Stief, died after being hit in an eight-car accident outside of his high school in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
A GoFundMe page collecting donations to help defray Jack Nicholson’s medical costs has been set up and has already raised more than $25,000 as of early Monday morning. Nicholson was a junior at Warwick High School and planned on joining the school’s wrestling team. Meghan Keeney, another junior at the high school, was also killed in the accident. A MealTrain has also been created for the Nicholson Stief family.
Nicholson Stief is the president of the Mid-Atlantic Collectors Association and the executive director and chief compliance officer at the Credit Bureau of Lancaster County. She spent eight years as a board member for ACA International and won the association’s Unit Leader of the Year award in 2010.
The accident remains under investigation. A 63-year-old woman was first observed driving slowly, which prompted some individuals to call 911. A police car was dispatched and it activated its lights and sirens to get the vehicle to pull over, but it sped off instead. The police officer was directed not to pursue the vehicle, in the hopes of getting the driver to slow down. Instead, the woman continued driving two more miles. She struck a school bus which was carrying students but nobody was injured. Continuing on, the vehicle struck another car that was carrying Nicholson and Keeney as well as other students. The woman’s vehicle ended up on its roof.
Students came back to the high school on Saturday to grieve with each other as well as to speak with counselors, pastors, and educators. Nicholson Stief also joined the students in the cafeteria, according to a published report.
“His mother was encouraging people to be good to one another,” said Emily Myallis, a Lutheran deacon. “She repeated that more than once, and through a lot of tears she expressed very strongly her belief that her son knew Jesus, and although this is hard on us, he is where he is supposed to be.”
The thoughts and prayers of everyone within the ARM industry are with Donna and her family.
