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Kylee Jo Acre's friends and family will never forget her fun-loving spirit.

"She always wanted to go on an adventure," said her mother, Diane Acre of Lower Burrell.

Kylee Acre, 16, who died Sunday in a car crash in New Kensington, packed many adventures into her short life, friends say.

"She loved to just drive around," said Gillian Gaitens, 16, of Fox Chapel. "We loved going on adventures."

Gaitens said she met Acre during their freshman year at St. Joseph High School in Natrona Heights, Harrison. Acre later transferred to Burrell High School and Gaitens to Fox Chapel Area High School, but the two girls remained friends.

"We could end up anywhere," Gaitens said of their road trips. "Once we just went to Kentucky. We were trying to find horse races, but we didn't make it that far.

"Another time, on the last day of school, we ended up in West Virginia and Ohio," she said.

Gaitens said she was waiting for Acre to visit Sunday evening. She didn't realize her friend had been killed in a 5 p.m. crash on Route 366 until Acre's mother sent her a text message about 10 p.m. Sunday.

Friends and family weren't certain where Acre or the driver of the car, Jonathan O'Sullivan, 18, of New Kensington, were heading when O'Sullivan's car reportedly crossed into oncoming traffic near Marlborough Drive.

Police on Monday said they still were investigating and had not determined the cause of the crash.

O'Sullivan and another passenger in his car, plus two occupants of the car into which he crashed, were hospitalized with injuries. Police yesterday would not release the identities of the people involved; their conditions were not known.

O'Sullivan graduated from Valley High School this year. Friends believed Acre, a junior at Burrell, had met him at a recent party.

"She was a wonderful person," Gaitens said. "Everyone she met, she put a big mark on their hearts."

Gaitens said they briefly played tennis together at St. Joseph High School before Acre transferred mid-year to Burrell. Acre played softball for several years and more recently was on Burrell's track team.

Shaun Cunningham, 17, of Lower Burrell said he'd known Acre since the eighth grade.

"We liked to drive around locally, what we'd call house hunting," he said. "We liked to find haunted houses, haunted tunnels, that kind of thing.

"She'd just brighten up every room she went into," Cunningham said.

Kahley Walker, 16, of Upper Burrell said Acre was friendly and helpful when Walker transferred to Burrell in fifth grade.

"We liked to do anything we could do together," Walker said.

Walker's older sister, Lilly, said she and Acre sometimes would ride dirt bikes or all-terrain vehicles together.

"We went on adventures all the time," said Lilly Walker, 18, a student at Penn State New Kensington. "She was the most beautiful girl inside and out."

"She was so pretty and caring," Kahley Walker added. "She wanted to help everyone. She was so nice to everyone."

Diane Acre said her daughter had volunteered at many places, including Belair Health and Rehabilitation Center in Lower Burrell.

"We used to ring bells together at Christmas for the Salvation Army," she said.

More recently, Kylee had volunteered and worked a summer job at the Center for Organ Recovery and Education in O'Hara, where Diane Acre works as a controller. Kylee's father, Jeff, works in the maintenance department at Burrell School District.

"She had a strong desire to help," Diane Acre said. "She'd say, 'Mom, someday I'm going to be rich and famous and help the children at St. Jude (Children's Research Hospital in Tennessee).' "

Kylee had planned to attend Penn State University and become a psychiatrist, her mother said.

"She was a beautiful girl," Diane Acre said. "She died too young."

The Walkers and Cunningham said they hope to organize a vigil or memorial service for Acre once they've spoken with administrators at Burrell.

In the meantime, Lilly Walker encouraged people to pray for Acre's family. She wanted to remind people always to wear a seat belt; Acre reportedly was not wearing one at the time of the crash.

In addition to her parents, Kylee Acre is survived by a brother, Joshua, 26, and a sister, Brittney, 18.

Ross G. Walker Funeral Home in New Kensington is handling burial arrangements. A funeral Mass is tentatively scheduled for Thursday morning at the Acres' church, St. Margaret Mary Roman Catholic Church in Lower Burrell.

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