'Kind, Beautiful' Morris Co. Teen Killed In Motorsports Crash: PD

BUDD LAKE, NJ — A Morris County teenager described as "a kind, beautiful, intelligent soul" was killed at a motorsports event in New York over the weekend, police said.

Katie L. Falgiano, 19, from the Budd Lake section of Mount Olive, was attending the "Mountain Madness" outdoor festival in upstate New York on Saturday when she was thrown off the vehicle she was a passenger of, and was pinned underneath, the Montomgery County Sheriff's Office said. She was flown to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, the sheriff's office said.

Out of Mount Olive High School just one year, Falgiano loved shooting, fishing, and hanging out at concerts, her family said.

"She was a kind, beautiful person that will forever be missed. She was a kind, beautiful, intelligent soul that will stay in our hearts forever. The amount of pain my family is feeling now is indescribable," sister Mandy Heier wrote in a GoFundMe fundraiser.

Although Falgiano is gone, her family hopes that Falgiano's choice to be an organ donor can help others.

"Katie’s life will live on through everyone’s memories. Katie was an organ donor and because of her someone’s child, mom or dad will be able to live a long and happy life," Heier wrote.

Because Falgiano was so young, funeral expenses are an unexpected burden during an already difficult time, and Heier said the family is grateful for all the donations. So far, $16,000 has been raised towards a $20,000 goal.