Butler County native's heart donated to 10-year-old after fatal Tennessee crash

The heart of a Jefferson Township native who died Saturday in a crash along a Tennessee highway will go to a 10-year-old.

Sarah Kasunic, 23, was an organ donor, according to information shared in a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for her funeral.

The fundraising effort had taken in almost $17,000 of a $20,000 goal from nearly 300 donors as of Wednesday morning.

“It is amazing how, despite this tragedy, Sarah was still able to impact and save a life, even after her passing,” campaign organizers Megan and Matthew Wilson wrote. “We, and the Kasunic family, encourage those who are not organ donors to explore this pathway in memory of Sarah and consider the potential for giving the gift of life.”

Kasunic was involved in a crash on Interstate 40 in Knoxville shortly after 2 a.m. Saturday, according to the Knoxville Police Department. She and a woman who had stopped to help her, Ashley Moore, 38, of Goodlettsville, were out of their vehicles and were hit by a passing vehicle.

Moore died at the scene. Kasunic was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where she died from her injuries Sunday, according to police. The driver of the car that hit them and his passenger, both from Knoxville, were not hurt.

Knoxville police were still investigating the crash.

Kasunic graduated from South Butler School District in 2013 and earned a nursing degree from Butler County Community College in 2016. She was a traveling registered nurse and was working in Knoxville, according to her obituary.

“Her love for nursing and travel brought her to Tennessee; one of the many places she ventured to,” according to the GoFundMe page.

Kasunic and the Butler County Community College Education Foundation had been in the process of creating a scholarship for students in the college’s registered nursing program, college spokesman William Foley said.

“The Kasunic family expressed that they want to continue the management of the scholarship program in Sarah’s memory, to help future nurses,” according to the GoFundMe effort.