A student in the Poconos was killed Sunday morning after the car he was driving crashed in Monroe County.
It was along a stretch of Reservoir Road in Smithfield Township that Aaron Sylvester, 18, lost his life.
Investigators said around 6 a.m. Sunday, the car Sylvester was driving veered off the road into several trees before flipping over onto the roof.
Sylvester was a senior at East Stroudsburg South High School.
Friend and classmate Rosalie Finn said Sylvester loved to cook and planned to go to a culinary arts school after he graduated.
"He got accepted to a culinary college and so he was really into that and he was real nice," said Finn.
The high school senior honed his culinary skills at Peppe's Ristorante in East Stroudsburg.
Owner Tom Farda said Sylvester began working for him in the eighth grade and Farda and his staff watched as he grew from dishwasher to prep chef and from a boy into young man.
"He was very interested in the culinary arts. A year ago he traveled to Italy," said Farda. "For a young man, he very much had his life together. He worked to buy one car and then another vehicle."
"Not many teenagers are like Aaron. He was a real hard worker. He loved his parents, like he talked about family like it was real important to him," said Margie Conklin, who works at the restaurant as a server.
Conklin said SYlvester's death feels like the loss of a family member.
"Very close to home. Aaron was like a surrogate son here. We always looked out for him," said Conklin.
"You look back where he'd be standing and he's not there. It's not easy," said Farda.
State police said it is not clear what caused Sylvester to swerve off the road.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday evening.
It was along a stretch of Reservoir Road in Smithfield Township that Aaron Sylvester, 18, lost his life.
Investigators said around 6 a.m. Sunday, the car Sylvester was driving veered off the road into several trees before flipping over onto the roof.
Sylvester was a senior at East Stroudsburg South High School.
Friend and classmate Rosalie Finn said Sylvester loved to cook and planned to go to a culinary arts school after he graduated.
"He got accepted to a culinary college and so he was really into that and he was real nice," said Finn.
The high school senior honed his culinary skills at Peppe's Ristorante in East Stroudsburg.
Owner Tom Farda said Sylvester began working for him in the eighth grade and Farda and his staff watched as he grew from dishwasher to prep chef and from a boy into young man.
"He was very interested in the culinary arts. A year ago he traveled to Italy," said Farda. "For a young man, he very much had his life together. He worked to buy one car and then another vehicle."
"Not many teenagers are like Aaron. He was a real hard worker. He loved his parents, like he talked about family like it was real important to him," said Margie Conklin, who works at the restaurant as a server.
Conklin said SYlvester's death feels like the loss of a family member.
"Very close to home. Aaron was like a surrogate son here. We always looked out for him," said Conklin.
"You look back where he'd be standing and he's not there. It's not easy," said Farda.
State police said it is not clear what caused Sylvester to swerve off the road.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday evening.
