Amelia Nowak, 18, and Derek Duerr, 20, who died in a fiery vehicle crash south of downtown Anchorage, were about to start their college careers in Washington state. Friends remember them as kind and giving.
Friends say Amelia Nowak was an uplifting force, a determined student and the “one-person welcoming committee” for newcomers on Anchorage’s South High basketball team.
A day after the collision, bouquets of flowers decorated the ground beneath a charred tree at 15th Avenue and Cordova Street, where the crash occurred. The mothers of both victims spoke tearfully about their children at a court hearing Monday. Mourners and friends made regular visits to the site early this week.
The two were dating and worked together at the Alaska Club location in South Anchorage. They had hoped to stay in touch as they started new paths, according to Fred Falealili, a friend of Duerr’s who worked at the fitness center with the couple. “When we were down, she’d be there picking us up,” Branet said. “If anyone was on the floors, she was the first person to go pick them up.”
“We went and watched the stars,” Dumlao said. “It was a really far drive up a mountain. She loved it. It was her favorite thing. We were there for like, two to three hours, and she was just sitting outside the car watching the stars.Belen Marchant was a teammate and friend of Nowak’s at South High and also became a friend of Duerr’s.
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