Vitalya “Tally” Sepot, who lived in Pine Orchard and was a sophomore at Pennsylvania State University, was killed in a one-vehicle car accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike Sunday, university authorities announced. Six other students were injured.
She was 19 and the daughter of Joe Sepot, a prominent Branford architect, and Claudia Sepot.
Sepot played for the Branford High tennis team and was graduated from the high school in 2014. She was studying graphic design at Penn State. Officials at the high school said they were devastated by the news.
According to a press release from Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Powers, Sepot was pronounced dead on Sunday after she was ejected from the car, which was traveling westbound on the turnpike, near the King of Prussia exit. The six other students, all passengers in the car, were taken to a local hospital. No further information has been released on their condition.
The state police will investigate the cause of the accident. The driver of the car has not been identified. The accident occurred at about 1:49 p.m. Sunday, a clear, sunny day.
The group had participated in a charity event somewhere near Philadelphia and were returning to campus when the accident occurred. They were helping to raise funds for a student- run organization named “Thon,” which is committed to fighting pediatric cancer.
Last February Sepot wrote on her Facebook page that she was “So incredibly proud to be a part of a school that raised over $13 million this weekend for children with pediatric cancer!!” She is pictured above (left) with a friend.
Sepot and the other students were affiliated with the Alpha Chi Omega sorority and Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
Updates will follow.
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