Remembering Casey
Faces of Distracted Driving
About Casey Anderson Feldman
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Casey Anderson Feldman, 21 years old, was a pedestrian in a crosswalk at an intersection governed by 4-way stop signs when she was struck by a distracted motorist on July 17, 2009. It was daylight and she was on her way to her summer job as a waitress at Bob’s Grill on the Ocean City, NJ boardwalk. A senior at Fordham University in NYC, Casey died some 5 hours later at the Atlantic City Memorial Hospital.
Casey was born April 6, 1988, the daughter of Joel Feldman and Dianne Anderson and the sister of Brett Feldman. She was raised in Springfield (Delaware County), Pa. and graduated from Springfield High School in 2006. An honors student, Feldman was multi-talented, acting in all of the high school theater productions beginning in her sophomore year and singing in the chorus and with Springfield Singers. She also poured her energy into writing and journalism, anchoring the school’s news program, writing and editing the school newspaper and serving as senior editor of the yearbook. In addition, Casey was the lead critic from Springfield High School for the Greater Philadelphia Region Cappies, a theater review and writing program.
Casey also graduated from the News Studies internship program at KYW News Radio and completed an internship at CBS Channel 3 Television News during her high school years. She earned the Pennsylvania National Merit Commended Student Award, was a member of Springfield High School 800 Club for having achieved a perfect score of 800 on the Verbal section of the SAT, and was an award recipient in the National Language Arts Olympiad, among other academic distinctions. Casey was also an accomplished equestrian and former horse owner who won many awards through competing in the Chester County Horse Show Association. Casey loved the beach and the mountains as well as the country and the city. New York City, with its energy and life, was particularly special. According to Casey in a personal letter written during high school, “… there will never be a place I feel as passionate about as New York City. There will never be a place in which I feel as alive, inspired, and hopeful about what life has in store for me….”
Frank McKnight, principal of Springfield High School and Feldman’s fifth grade teacher, said, “Casey was a wonderful person overall, and she had so many friends because she was genuinely kind to everyone”.
Soon after arriving at Fordham, where Casey majored in communication and media studies, she joined The Observer, the newspaper at the Manhattan campus, getting her first news bylines as a freshman, becoming an assistant news editor as a sophomore and news editor as a junior. In June, 2009 she was named a finalist for the 2009 Chandler Award for Student Writer of the Year in Religion, sponsored by the Religion Newswriters Association. During her time at Fordham, Casey continued to secure internships, earning bylines from AM New York, The News of Delaware County and Philadelphia Style. In the fall of 2009, she was to have begun an internship at NY1, a Manhattan-based television station. During her time as a student in Manhattan, Casey made time to volunteer at the West End homeless shelter, Momentum Soup Kitchen, and Animal Haven Shelter.
“Casey was an enormously talented, endlessly curious and deeply ethical young reporter. She was one of my most promising students. Smart and dogged, whimsical and kind, she was going places.” Said Elizabeth Stone, a journalism professor at Fordham and faculty advisor to the campus paper.
“Casey knew a good story idea when she saw it, she had her Google alerts in place to make sure she didn’t miss it, and she had the energy and skill to turn a good idea into a publishable article. Casey’s friends knew that her favorite quote was a line of H.L. Mencken’s—”I know of no human being who has a better time than an eager & energetic young reporter.’ and I know of no eager and energetic young reporter who took that more to heart than Casey.”
Casey was a kind and compassionate person as well as a highly personable extrovert with a great sense of humor. She loved people, animals and life and lived life to the fullest. Casey was a photography minor and enjoyed taking photographs of everything. She was a loyal friend and always made time for the people in her life, including childhood friends. All who knew her say that she was a great listener. She was a devoted family member and cherished family traditions.
In addition to her parents and brother, Casey was survived by her grandparents Martin and Winnie Anderson of Vineland, NJ (who have since passed away), aunts and uncles Janice and Jim Gallagher of Ocean View, NJ, Susan and Harvey MacNeill of Pittsgrove, NJ, Marcy Seminoff of Springfield, Pa, Andrew Feldman of Philadelphia and cousins, Jamie Gallagher, Christopher MacNeill, Curtis MacNeill, Nick Seminoff and Adam Seminoff. Casey’s parents established the Casey Feldman Foundation and its sponsored project, End Distracted Driving (EndDD.org) shortly after her death. Casey is buried at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, PA.
