UPDATE: Johnstown Man Charged with DUI Vehicular Homicide in July Death of Halifax Tow Truck Driver
UPDATE: Tow Truck Driver ID’d in Tragic Fatal Accident Along I-78 in Bethel
A tow truck driver from Halifax was killed on the side of Interstate 78 in Bethel Township Tuesday evening as he was on a roadside assistance call.
According to State Police in Hamburg, the 29-year-old operator of that tow truck was parked on the shoulder of I-78 West in Bethel Township (near Mile Marker 14.7) helping another vehicle at a little after 6 p.m. Tuesday evening.
At the same time, another vehicle with 4 people from Johnstown (including one 9-year-old boy) moving in the left lane along the highway rear-ended a “commercial motor vehicle” right in front it in the passing lane. That caused the the vehicle with the people from Johnstown to veer across the right lane.
The vehicle struck the tow truck driver as he was helping another motorist. It then struck another vehicle police describe as a “heavy-duty tow truck”. Eventually, that vehicle came to a rest along the side of the highway.
The driver of the tow truck was pronounced dead at the scene by the Berks County Coroner’s Office. Four people inside that vehicle were all transported to Reading Hospital with injuries ranging from moderate to severe.
Police say the vehicle containing the people from Johnstown included a:
- 29-year-old man
- 38-year-old woman
- 20-year-old woman
- 9-year-old boy.
The driver of the “commercial motor vehicle”, a 33-year-old man from Bethlehem, was uninjured in the incident and refused medical treatment at the scene.
Police have not released the identities of anyone involved in this incident until notifications of family can be made.
An investigation into this crash is still ongoing. State Police in Hamburg say if anyone has information on this incident or witnessed it, they should call the barracks at 610-562-6885.
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Linda H
July 22, 2020 at 6:58 am
Terrible, just terrible. My thoughts are with his family today.
Back in the mid 80’s, we had two wreckers and a service truck out all night. Cop left just as the sun was coming up. Our crew had just set a truck back up, after it had rolled over. Right lanes were closed.
Trucker coming along never saw the cones – blinded by the sun, a late summer morning, a bit foggy like it always is. Moving far too fast even for the best of situations. He hit the back of the trailer that had just been set up. That pushed the tractor into the wrecker and that wrecker into the back of our other. At that point the moving truck twisted and hit the fully loaded service van, threw it into the air, where it flipped and landed on the roof.
My brother in law was between the two wreckers and to this day does not know how he ended up down the embankment, with a few scratches, vs being crushed between the trucks.
Strange things happen in these accidents. Momentum, human reaction or lack of, certainly are part of it.
But, sometimes it seems things are being controlled by an unseen force or being.
I have a lot of other “how did that ever happen?” stories about local accidents.
Again, my thoughts and prayers for this young guys family.
Canary Commenter
July 22, 2020 at 4:40 pm
A tragedy, indeed. Prayers for the family of the tow truck driver and for those injured in the other vehicle.