BEAVER FALLS, Pa. — Staff and customers at the Athens Family Restaurant in Beaver Falls are rallying behind server Carrie Koch after she survived a crash that killed two other people.
The restaurant’s owner tells Channel 11 that Koch had just clocked out and was walking home from work when she got pinned under a car that was hit by a drunk driver in a pickup truck.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> 2 killed in Beaver Falls crash; man charged with homicide, DUI
“They said she was under the car. It’s a miracle she’s alive,” said Marina Brown, owner of Athens Family Restaurant.
Koch was pinned under a car that was hit by a pickup truck driven by Israel Tun Cooch, who police believe drove drunk at a high rate of speed, ran a red light, and crashed his pickup truck into the car, killing the two people inside. He was also injured and taken to the hospital before he was taken to the Beaver County Jail.
The Beaver County coroner has identified the people killed as Robert Lance Junior and Sheylee Young Davis. Friends of Davis Young started a GoFundMe account to help her two young sons.
Brown and her team at Athens have set up a GoFundMe for Koch, who sustained serious injuries and was scheduled to have surgery on Monday, as the community continues to rally behind her.
“My phone has been ringing off the hook because they know that she’s here with us every day,” Brown said.
“She takes care of the customers, and that’s all you can ask for. We hope the best for her,” said Carl Caputo, a longtime customer at Athens.
Cooch faces multiple charges, including homicide by vehicle. The Beaver County DA told Channel 11 they’ve been in contact with ICE and are in the process of lodging a detainer.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
