It was hard to see in the dark, but it was a rural scene that showed the two of them together, said Gallaher, 18, while other friends of Lundyn, 17, stood nearby, not far from a mass of flowers that had been laid there in the hours since the accident.

“She always had my back,” Gallaher said — not realizing she’d made a play on words — then when prodded to provide an example, she related a private memory: Gallaher had been sick and vomiting at her aunt’s house, and people were taking turns rubbing her back, when Lundyn declared, “I got this,” and took over, fetching her old childhood blanket and placing it between their heads, comforting Gallaher, continuing to rub her back, making her feel better.

Gallaher started to cry as she told the story.

“She was the sweetest person,” Gallaher said. “There was no one she didn’t like.”

A makeshift memorial for Lundyn Treese sits along the 900 block of the 10th Avenue Expressway on Monday afternoon. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Referring to Jared Detwiler, the driver of the car, who is in the hospital, but facing charges for the crash,

Gallaher said, “She wouldn’t want anyone to be mad at Jared.”

Treese worked at TJ Maxx, according to fellow Maxx employee Emily Croft, 20.

Lundyn was a relentless hugger, according to Croft and former TJ Maxx employee Tracy Baker, 44.

If she recognized that Croft was having a bad day, Lundyn would walk up immediately and hug her, almost crying herself, due to the empathy that was a defining characteristic, Croft said.

She was also a relentless apologizer, according to Croft.

“If she messed up, she would apologize a hundred times,” Croft said. “You would tell her to stop, and she would apologize for apologizing.”

If she accidentally bumped someone while walking in the hallway of Altoona Area High School, which she attended, she’d say “sorry” — which is unusual nowadays among students, said Autumn Baker, 16, Tracy’s daughter, who also attends the high school.

Technically a cashier at TJ Maxx, Lundyn routinely went beyond her duties, according to Croft.

She’d take the initiative to fill up the “queue” spaces where the store displayed items designed to tempt shoppers who were about to check out, Croft and Tracy Baker said.

And she would go around the store without complaint, pulling items off the racks that needed to be moved, Tracy Baker said.

She was a soccer player at Altoona Area High School.

This evening at Mansion Park, there will be a recognition event in connection with the team’s 6 p.m. subregional playoff game, originally scheduled for Monday in Pittsburgh.

“We (will) come together to memorialize Lundyn as a teammate, friend and amazing person,” according to social media posts.

Attendees are encouraged to bring flowers, flameless candles and other items. “Let’s come together to show our support and love,” the post states.

There will also be a candlelight vigil for Lundyn from 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Providence Presbyterian Church, 2401 Broad Ave.

Attendees should park at the Jaffa Shrine Center nearby.

A GoFundMe account set up by Lundyn’s aunt had raised more than $28,250 from more than 565 donations as of 9:30 p.m. Monday, surpassing its original goal of $15,000.