'She Could Light Up a Room With Her Smile'

On April Fool's Day a couple years ago, Katie Warrington got wind that a sorority sister intended to prank her. 

The prank involved the telling of a fake story about a nasty breakup. Warrington, refusing to be a victim, decided to turn the tables. 

Friend Kathryn DeClark recalled that Warrington staged a dramatic story of her own. 

"She told everyone she had gone after this girl's boyfriend and broke a window," DeClark recalled. "She had her hand wrapped, had bits of broken glass."

The message: no one pranks the prankmaster. 

Warrington, 22, was remembered this week as a giving friend and enthusiastic storyteller, who had ambitions to travel and become a sign language interpreter.

She died Sunday morning in a one-car crash on Piney Orchard Parkway. Her cousin, Sam Schindler was also killed along with friend, David D'Augustine. Another man, 23-year-old Michael Phillips, remains hospitalized. 

Warrington was a student at Radford University, where she was an active member of Alpha Sigma Tau sorority. Most recently, she was taking classes online with New River Community and Technical College, DeClark said. 

DeClark said she learned about the fatal crash while dining with her family at Easter. 

"I just broke down," she said. "And then I drove back [to school] and met with all of my sisters, and we just sat together and cried. We just talked and told stories for 12 hours."

DeClark said Warrington was active in the sorority, helping new members and serving as an alumni liaison.

"She was so goofy, she could light up a room with her smile," DeClark said.