SALEM - The Salem State College community is mourning the loss of a 18-year-old freshman killed in a motor vehicle accident in North Andover on Friday.

Jessica Finney, a resident of Bowditch Hall on Loring Avenue, died when the Volkswagen Jetta she was a front-seat passenger in crashed into a brick building at about 11 p.m.

Word of the accident spread quickly, and many residents learned of Finney's death that night, said Whitney McNamara, 20, a freshmen who lived on the same floor with Finney.

McNamara and Rachel Contois, 19, learned the following morning.

"She was one of the nicest people I ever met," said McNamara, who's from Hyannis. "She was always smiling and laughing."

"Even if she didn't know you, she'd say, 'Hi,'" said Contois, of Belchertown.

John Meyer, 19, of Billerica was friends with Finney.

"I'm just in complete shock right now," Meyer said. "It's been a very depressing weekend. The whole building is in shock."

Finney is remembered by Bowditch Hall residents not only for her smile and caring personality, but for her hard work and always cracking the books.

McNamara shared a biology class with Finney this semester and always saw her in the lounge studying.

When there was a test, she and her classmates would go to Finney the day before.

"She'd have the flash cards done and already be studying when we just started the night before," McNamara said.

The biology final is Friday.

Salem State officials planned to meet this morning to talk about what the college's response should be, said Karen Cady, director of college relations.

"So tragic," she said. "There's just been too much of this going on."

Finney and the two young women with her in the crash, Amanda Jensen, 19, and Samantha Monteiro, 18, were known to be close friends at North Andover High School, where they graduated last year. Monteiro, whom police identified as the driver, suffered minor injuries and was treated at Lawrence General Hospital and released. Jensen was badly injured and taken by Medflight helicopter to a Boston hospital. Her condition was unavailable last night.

The car the teens were in had been coming down a hill on High Street, which was wet from a light, misty rain, about 11 p.m. Another car, carrying more friends of the trio, followed.

As the Jetta came around the corner at the top of the hill, the driver hit the gas pedal to speed up and lost control of the car, police said. The car spun in the road, smashing sideways into the corner of 57 High St., a brick building housing dental offices near the downtown.

North Andover police Sgt. Charles Gray said investigators were looking into the possibility that speed was a factor in the crash. No charges have been filed.

In her hometown, Friday's accident attracted a crowd of approximately 200 mourners to the crash site the following day.

Friends and a school official described Finney as someone who could light up a room when she smiled.

"She was always smiling," North Andover High School Principal Susan Nicholson said. "Always cheerful, a real nice girl."

A throng of their friends and former classmates gathered at the site Saturday night to comfort each other and mourn. Some carried candles in tall glasses or paper cups, while others quietly clung to one another in teary hugs.

Earlier in the day, friends had set up a memorial at the crash site, with more than a dozen flower bouquets. Pieces of a necklace, an earring and shattered car glass were still strewn on the scene.

Staff writers Crystal Bozek and Jill Harmacinski contributed to this report.