A 23-year-old NIU alumna died over the holidays after a vehicle accident on Peace Road.

DeKalb County Sheriff’s police said Jeannie E. Palermo, of Oswego, was southbound on Peace Road north of Freed Road on the morning of Dec. 27 when her 2002 Ford XR2 ran off onto the shoulder. Police said when she turned back onto the road, her car skidded sideways into the oncoming lane and was struck on the passenger’s side by a pickup truck.

Chief Deputy Coroner Danny Lee pronounced Palermo dead at the scene at 4:30 a.m.

Palermo was born in Downers Grove and graduated from Waubonsee High School in 1999. She received a degree in communications and a B.S. in business from NIU in 2003.

She is survived by her parents Karen Beem and Vincent Palermo, her two sisters Anne Palermo and Jennifer Beem, her paternal grandparents Vincent and Ann Palermo, and her maternal grandmother Dorothy Hassert.

“She was the most beautiful woman in the world,” said her grandfather, Vincent Palermo.

Jeannie had been working with the Elite Modeling Agency.

“She had a gig that Sunday- that day before she met her fate,” Vincent said.

Many of Jeannie’s friends traveled to her wake from DeKalb, Vincent said.

Jeannie modeled as a temporary job and planned a career in communications and television, Vincent said. She traveled around the world, spending time in Europe and Mexico working at resorts, Vincent said.

She also appeared on the cover of the August 2004 Condé Nast Traveler after a photographer at one resort saw her swimming in a pool.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent to the Jeannie Palermo Memorial Fund, c/o MidAmerica Bank, 1001 S. Washington St., Naperville, IL, 60540.