The Pleasant Valley community is in mourning after a young student died from injuries sustained in a crash over the weekend.

A GoFundMe fundraiser has been set up for the family of Emma Werner, a fourth-grade student at Pleasant Valley Intermediate School.

Emma, 9, of Kunkletown, died Monday night as a result of the crash along Route 81 in Lebanon County on Saturday.

Carolyn Miller of Slatington started the fundraiser for the family on Sunday.

As of Wednesday morning, $5,860 of the $100,000 goal had been raised.

“Emma is part of our extended family,” Miller said upon the creation of the fundraiser before Emma’s passing. “She loves horses and dancing and her family. She always has a smile for everyone.”

Sam Behler, Emma’s mother, said she’s grateful to Miller for setting up the fundraiser.

“I just appreciate that she thought about doing that for me in hopes I didn’t have to worry about any expenses that might come out of this,” Behler said.

Counseling

The school shared the information with students on Tuesday, according to a letter sent out by building Principal Kendal Askins.

“Our Rapid Response Team, which consists of our counselors and administrators, went into classrooms to help share this news,” Askins said. “In addition, we had additional support provided through the CLIU20 Crisis Response Flight Team.”

Counseling was available for students and staff.

The crash

Behler said the crash involved Emma; her brother, 2-year-old Lonnie Behler III; and Emma’s grandparents John and Michelle Albanese.

They were hit twice; they were working on pulling off the side of the road,” Behler said. “Someone rear-ended them prior, so they were working on getting off to the side of the road.”

Behler said her mother called her hysterically to tell her they were in a crash.

“I actually only knew my daughter was unconscious,” Behler said. “Then I spoke on the phone with a good Samaritan who stopped and said Emma was breathing. I called back and talked to an officer. Then I called back and got the ambulance; at this time I was 2½ hours away and was driving from Cumberland, Maryland.

“I called my mom back again to see if EMTs were there to get the status of my daughter, (they) just knew that my daughter had a leg injury. I literally called everybody. Once I found out my daughter was in an ambulance and the ambulance had left, I called Penn State Milton Hershey Medical Center. They did want to Life Flight her, but her health status was so bad that they couldn’t.”

Behler said that upon her arrival, they told her that Emma needed a blood transfusion, that she was unresponsive, and that they were waiting to see where the bleeding was.

“I got a phone call back, and it was a person I did not want to hear from, the neurosurgeon,” she said. “He had told me that she had a lot of pressure in the brain; I also knew at that time that Emma had injuries to her lungs, she had a laceration on her spleen (also kidney and heart injuries), but the worst of the worst was her brain, it was just swelling and swelling, so I told him to go ahead and do the surgery and try to get the pressure off her brain.

Behler said when she arrived at Hershey Medical Center, Emma was going into the operating room.

“That was the longest wait of my life,” she said.

Emma made it out of surgery. “I kind of knew that I had to give my daughter a chance. Miracles happen. The machines kept her alive; we decided to let her go.”

Behler said Emma’s grandfather was the passenger, and got knocked unconscious, as the seat broke and was lying on Emma’s brother Lonnie’s legs. Emma’s grandfather suffered some bruising on the brain, and needed stitches by his eye and side of his head. She said Emma’s grandmother had minor injuries. Lonnie III is having some hip issues.

Helping others

Behler said Emma was excited to celebrate what would have been her 10th birthday on Dec. 15.

“We did have an Honor Walk for her,” she said. “She had a whole bunch of family and friends come out.”

Behler said that Emma was part of Gift of Life, and was able to donate and save some lives.

“She enjoyed being with everybody and helping; there was an autistic kid that talked about her all the time,” she said.

In addition to her mother, brother and grandparents, Emma is survived by her father, Lonnie Behler Jr.; a sister, Skylar Werner, 7; a half-sister, Rachel Leppert, 13; and Miller, who is Leppert’s grandmother.

“Emma, she was funny, smart; she was just so loving and caring,” Behler said. “She had such a passion for horses; she had her own horse, and was so excited because we were talking about starting to compete in barrel racing.”

Behler said Emma touched the lives of many in her short time.

“Emma is a hero; she was one here, and she is one where she is now,” she said. “She was always willing to help out in any way she can.”

Emma’s funeral will be held Saturday at Gower’s Funeral Home in Gilbert. The viewing will be from 10 a.m. to noon. Services will follow after the viewing.