FEDERAL HEIGHTS, Colo. - Hundreds of church members came together Thursday night to pray after a group of young ministry students were involved in a grizzly wreck on an Oregon highway early Thursday morning that left at least two young people dead.
The crash killed 23-year-old Taune Nicole Winter Pepper of Deer Trail, on Colorado's eastern plains. 20-year-old Joshua John Pichura of Geneva, Ohio also died.
Police said there were 16 people inside the group's black church van. It overturned on black ice on a highway near the town of Baker City, Oregon near the Idaho border.
Six of the passengers were airlifted to the hospital in Boise, including the two that died. Some of those transported were listed as "critically injured."
"It has been very devastating to the families of the victims but also to our church family," said Christy Gimer, the office manager-turned spokesperson at New Life Worship Center in Federal Heights.
According to Gimer, about one-third of the students were from Colorado, and the others were from other states, including Florida, Utah and Texas. One student was from Iraq, she said.
All of them were part of a nine-month training program, called Rocky Mountain Masters Commission, through which they were involved in various community service projects while receiving training to become ministers.
"They run a lot of community programs for children of our city who are less fortunate -- tutoring, dance classes, arts, recreation," Gimer said. "They run them for free for the people here in Federal Heights."
Early on, Baker City, Ore. Fire Chief Jim Price reported that the group was on its way to a concert in Portland. But Gimer said they were on their way to Portland to spend a week at a conference raising money to continue their community programs.
"It's devastating to know part of our church family was in that accident, that hits home," said David Martinez, one of a few hundred church members who came to Thursday night's vigil. "It's like losing you own child. Or losing a loved person of your family. That's hard you know."
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The crash killed 23-year-old Taune Nicole Winter Pepper of Deer Trail, on Colorado's eastern plains. 20-year-old Joshua John Pichura of Geneva, Ohio also died.
Police said there were 16 people inside the group's black church van. It overturned on black ice on a highway near the town of Baker City, Oregon near the Idaho border.
Six of the passengers were airlifted to the hospital in Boise, including the two that died. Some of those transported were listed as "critically injured."
"It has been very devastating to the families of the victims but also to our church family," said Christy Gimer, the office manager-turned spokesperson at New Life Worship Center in Federal Heights.
According to Gimer, about one-third of the students were from Colorado, and the others were from other states, including Florida, Utah and Texas. One student was from Iraq, she said.
All of them were part of a nine-month training program, called Rocky Mountain Masters Commission, through which they were involved in various community service projects while receiving training to become ministers.
"They run a lot of community programs for children of our city who are less fortunate -- tutoring, dance classes, arts, recreation," Gimer said. "They run them for free for the people here in Federal Heights."
Early on, Baker City, Ore. Fire Chief Jim Price reported that the group was on its way to a concert in Portland. But Gimer said they were on their way to Portland to spend a week at a conference raising money to continue their community programs.
"It's devastating to know part of our church family was in that accident, that hits home," said David Martinez, one of a few hundred church members who came to Thursday night's vigil. "It's like losing you own child. Or losing a loved person of your family. That's hard you know."
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