Catholic Nun, 80, Killed in Head-On Crash

An 80-year-old nun was killed in a head-on crash in Westchester County, where she taught at a Catholic school, New York State Police said Saturday.

Sister Barbara Heil was a passenger in a car operated by a colleague, Sister Marie Murphy, 83, at about 3:45 p.m. Friday when their Honda was struck head-on by a vehicle that had veered into their lane, troopers said.

The accident occurred on State Route 6 in Somers, where the two nuns served at John F. Kennedy Catholic High School.

Murphy and the driver of the other vehicle, 48-year-old Christina Deagan of Cortland Manor, were taken to Westchester Medical Center. Deagan's injuries were not life-threatening, investigators said. Murphy was in intensive care, the school said.

Troopers were still investigating why Deagan's car veered into the oncoming lane.

"Sister Barbara has been a beloved part of the Kennedy community since its opening in 1967," the school wrote in a notice about the accident.

"She will be profoundly missed by everyone whose lives she touched, from her countless students in her Latin classes, to the boys and girls who went with her to Goshen to work with the Mustard Seed Migrant Ministry, to the works of art she created with her sewing machine for the auction and play."

A funeral is planned for 10 a.m. Thursday at the Good Counsel Campus in White Plains. 

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