Aug 17, 2018 3 min read

The 19-year-old Eighty Four man killed in a crash Wednesday in South Strabane Township was a wrestler and a 2017 graduate of Bentworth High School.

Dominick Frank Daniels was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, in the 1400 block of East Maiden Street, according to Washington County Coroner Tim Warco.

Officer Keith Zentkovich said Daniels was driving east near Weaver Spur when his sport utility vehicle went off the road and hit a tree. Daniels was the sole occupant of the vehicle. Route 40 was closed for more than two hours due to the crash, which is still under investigation.

Daniels had been on the high school wrestling team for three years, from 2014 to 2017.

“He enjoyed wrestling – that was a big part of him,” Bentworth Superintendent Scott Martin said Thursday. “Our hearts go out and our prayers are with the family.”

Martin said when Daniels was in school he was well-liked by students, got along with everybody and often joked with staff members.

“He was always smiling,” Martin said. “That’s what I’ll always remember – his smile.”

Daniels’ wrestling coach and middle school teacher Mike Shrader said Daniels was a “thoughtful” and “hard-working kid.”

“Within the wrestling room, if there was ever a time you wanted him to work harder, you could get it out of him,” Shrader said. “And you could never be mad at him.”

Even after graduating, Shrader said, Daniels would often attend wrestling matches to support the team and cheer on other students.

“Dominic was the type of kid that if he asked you how you were doing, he really meant it,” Shrader said. “He wanted to make your day better – that was the type of kid he was.”

The district’s former athletic director George Linck, who retired last year after 27 years, said Daniels often helped out with the youth football team. Linck said Daniels’ parents, former students, also helped out with the district’s concession stand and the family was always involved in the Bentworth community.

“Everybody in the school knew Dominic,” he said. “I don’t think he had a mean bone in his body.”

Linck said Daniels was “outgoing” and maintained a “jovial” attitude at school.

“It’s a terrible loss,” Linck said.

Shrader called Daniels’ death “heartbreaking” and said Daniels’ parents were always so proud of their son, as was the rest of the Bentworth community.

“He had a charisma and a charm and friendliness that was refreshing to see in a young kid.”