Mother attends graduation of daughter killed on Taconic Saturday
WHITE PLAINS – The day after learning of her daughter's death, Pauline Jarvis walked on stage Sunday during Dominican College's commencement and received a standing ovation from the crowd at the Westchester County Center.
"As I was going up the stairs onto the stage, I was like, 'Vaughna, I'm doing this, and you know I need to do this because you have worked so hard for this. I know I can with your help,'" Jarvis said of her daughter, a nursing student killed in a one-car crash on the Taconic State Parkway. "It was an incredible feeling of strength. It came from her."
Vaughna Jarvis had been living in Sloatsburg as she finished up her degree at the Blauvelt-based college. The 23-year-old undergrad was described as a tireless volunteer who also had two jobs in the medical field, including work at Phelps Memorial Hospital Center. She was going to see her family in Poughkeepsie after finishing an overnight shift on Saturday morning.
Jarvis was driving north near Peekskill Hollow Road around 7:50 a.m., state police said, when she apparently lost control of her 2002 Toyota Camry while trying to change lanes after passing a vehicle in Putnam Valley.
The car drove off the road and struck a ditch on the right shoulder. It then rolled over and struck a tree before coming to rest. There was no indication that alcohol or illegal drug use were a factor in the accident, state police said. First responders found Jarvis unconscious with massive internal injuries.
A state trooper soon arrived outside the Jarvis' door, informing them of the accident. Pauline Jarvis says she headed to Hudson Valley Hospital Center in Cortlandt and later learned that Vaughna "died on impact, and didn't suffer any pain."
"I raised the sheet up, and I said, 'Vaughna, mommy is here. Can you please wake up?' That's my baby. She wouldn't respond to me at all," Pauline Jarvis said as she fought back tears.
Seventy members of Vaughna Jarvis's family were invited to celebrate her graduation at a local hotel. Now they're preparing to say their goodbyes to a young woman who was determined to become an anesthesiologist and made an impression on many of Dominican's students, professors and administrators.
"There are students that as an administrator you can't wait for them to graduate so you can be friends with them," said Melissa Leigh Tetler-Grau, an assistant director of residence life. "Vaughna and I couldn't wait until she graduated. She was already my friend, the first student to know I was pregnant."
Jarvis's family was one of the last to leave the county center. They stayed with her friends long after most graduates had left the building to take pictures outside. Pauline Jarvis, who received an award on her daughter's behalf and a document saying a diploma would be mailed, said a scholarship in Vaughna's name is being organized. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Twitter: