Two Temple students killed in car crash

Just a few weeks shy of finishing a year abroad at Temple University, two British students died in a car crash in Upstate New York on Saturday.

Francesca Ward, a student at the University of Southampton, and Olivia Moore, from the University of East Anglia, were traveling with two other international students from Temple. According to a police statement, the group was driving west on I-90 through the town of Manchester in western New York when their car “exited the roadway and struck a guide rail.”

Ward and Moore, whose ages were not released, were pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel. The two other students were taken to Clifton Springs Hospital, about 30 miles outside of Rochester, where they were examined and later discharged. Their identities are being withheld by the university to protect their privacy.

“We are in shock and mourning over this terrible tragedy,” wrote Temple President JoAnne A. Epps in a statement, “and have reached out to the families of all four students.”

Deirdre Childress Hopkins, a Temple spokesperson, said that the students were traveling together on a trip not related to university activities. Hopkins said the university wasn’t aware of the students’ itinerary or which one of them was driving at the time of the accident.

“Right now, we just want to help these families get through the worst day of their lives,” said Hopkins.

New York State Police are investigating and have not yet provided further details.