Savannah Anderson doesn’t like public speaking. She doesn’t even really like people.
But the death of her friend, Briana Werth, compelled Anderson to speak in front of dozens who gathered to remember Werth Thursday night.
Werth, 21, of Newport News, died in a car crash in York County Wednesday night, according to state police spokeswoman Sgt. Michelle Anaya.
Police believe she lost control of her Kia Optima on Hampton Highway and Big Bethel Road and crashed into a tree.
Anderson told mourners she was drawn to Werth’s infectious ability to put anyone in a good mood. That, Anderson said, is what she’ll remember most about her friend.
“She would just say something to keep me up and smiling for the rest of the day,” Anderson said.
Dozens gathered in a parking lot outside Joe and Mimmas, where Werth was a waitress, shielding candles held in styrofoam cups against the wind.
The mood turned light when someone’s cup caught fire, and people rallied to put it out.
“Never a dull moment,” someone in the crowd joked.
One by one, people inched toward the front of the circle to talk about Werth. They described her as the face of the Yorktown Italian restaurant, with her curly, beautiful hair and ability to treat every person she met like her best friend.
Anderson said Werth made her want to be a better, more positive person. She talked about a time when Werth literally gave her the shirt off her back.
“She just wanted everyone happy,” she sad.
Friends said Werth liked to be with people and go to the beach, but felt most home at the restaurant, where she worked for about six years.
“She was basically the head waitress,” said Rosaria Bui, whose father Harold owns the restaurant, and takes pride in the family business. All employees are family there, Rosaria Bui said. They even have their own nicknames. That’s where Werth spent most of her time, often on days off, too. She even napped in the back room.
When Antonio Calabrese, also an employee, heard about Werth, his mind raced to the restaurant’s owner.
“Does Harold know?” he thought.
Werth died on her day off, friends said.
When Rosaria Bui heard about her friend, she drove almost three hours down from Longwood University, where she’s a student. The team at Joe and Mimmas quickly rallied, borrowing speakers and printing posters for a last-minute vigil.
Matt Wilco, who helped organize the vigil, thought about having it on Hampton Highway, where Werth veered off the road.
But he wanted to have it somewhere she felt at home.
Alexa Perez knows regulars will start coming in to Joe and Mimmas. They’ll ask for “Bubbles” — Werth’s nickname.
It’ll be hard coming in to work, and not seeing Werth there, Perez, also an employee, said.
When she heard the news about Werth, she didn’t know what to do. She was supposed to be in school.
Instead, she went to the restaurant.
