Memorial services held for 3 ad women killed in crash

A memorial service has been held for one of the three advertising women who were tragically killed in an Oct. 23 automobile accident and two other services will be held Oct. 29 and Nov. 13.

Ashley Sawatzke, 30, Amy Taylor, 32, and Lindsey Cohen, 35 had worked together at Energy BBDFO in account management. Sawatzke left BBDO over the summer to join Leo Burnett as an account supervisor position on the P&G Always account.

Services were held last Wednesday for Lindsey Cohen in her home city of Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

Services for Amy Taylor will be held Sunday, Oct. 29 in Lewisburg, Ohio and Ashley Sawatzke’s services will take place Nov. 13 in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.

The three friends were killed in Milwaukee at 2:45 a.m. when a speeding SUV ran a red light and struck the Uber Ford Fusion in which they were riding on the driver’s side. The women were sitting in the back.

Sawatzke and Taylor suffered head injuries and were pronounced dead on the scene. Cohen was taken by ambulance to an area hospital and died from blunt force injuries to her abdomen.

“We are absolutely devastated by the loss of these three incredible, exuberant young women who were taken from us far too soon,” said Energy BBDO president Tonise Paul in a statement.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with their families and loved ones at this tragic moment. The grief of their absence is felt deeply across our Energy BBDO family.”

Burnett’s condolence statement said, “We are deeply saddened by the tragic news of Ashley Sawatzke’s passing. She was a valued and loved member of the Leo Burnett family. Our thoughts and prayers are with her friends and family at this time.”

Wisconsin native Sawatzke had attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A former co-worker said of her: “Anyone who has the chance to work with her will be better for it.”

Cohen, from Ohio, worked in Los Angeles for Ogilvy & Mather before moving to Chicago in 2012. She was a Boston University alum.

Taylor grew up around Dayton, Ohio and like Cohen, also had worked at San Francisco and Los Angeles agencies. She was a University of Tennessee/Knoxville graduate.