Three People Dead, 13 Injured In I-380 Wreck

COOLBAUGH TOWNSHIP, PA — What caused a fatal collision between a tour bus and two tractor-trailers that killed three and wounded more than a dozen on a busy stretch of Poconos interstate remained unknown Wednesday afternoon as state troopers continued an investigation.

Wednesday’s wreck involved two tractor-trailers and an Italian tour bus on Interstate 380 North near mile marker 4. The crash happened at 10:09 a.m., state police said. The bus carrying an Italian tour group left the New York City metro area at 7:30 a.m. for Niagara Falls, a spokesman for Academy Bus said this afternoon.

“We can confirm that one of the deceased is the bus driver,” Brian Dickerson said in an email. “We offer our condolences to the family of this valued member of our Academy team, as well as to the families of others tragically affected by this accident. We also extend our thoughts to the injured.”

Dickerson did not identify the bus driver, who had “more than a decade of experience behind the wheel.”

Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/three-people-dead-13-injured-in-i-380-wreck-1.1892786

Police Probe Pottstown Shooting, Victim Flown To Lehigh Hospital

Editor’s note:  Unfortunately, I was almost right in the middle of this tonight.  Getting a little too close for comfort.  I think the Attorney General’s Mobile Task Force is sorely needed.  Much of the crime in Pottstown is drug related.  It’s time to get serious and ferret out these criminals.  This needs to be the first order of business, not tourism. People are not going to flock to Pottstown if it is NOT SAFE! You are putting the cart before the horse.

POTTSTOWN – A shooting that took place in the area of a downtown alley Wednesday evening resulted in at least one victim being taken by car to the hospital and then flown by helicopter to Lehigh Valley Hospital for further treatment.

The patient’s condition and name were unavailable at press time.

Personnel at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center refused to provide any information or even confirm a shooting victim was or had been in the hospital.

However, The Mercury learned from another source that a patient flown from the hospital’s helicopter pad was the shooting victim.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20150211/police-probe-pottstown-shooting-victim-flown-to-lehigh-hospital

Police: Man Found Unresponsive In Cab Had Over $100,000 In Heroin

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

HAZLE TOWNSHIP, PA — An unresponsive man in the back of a taxi cab awoke to a slew of charges after police say they found over $100,000 of heroin in his possession on Sunday morning.

According to police reports:

State police responded to assist EMS personnel at the Ramada Inn on North Church Street at 8:20 a.m. for a report of an unresponsive male in a taxi cab. When the 24-year-old man from Scranton was awoken by officers, he was found to allegedly be in possession of 3 ounces of raw heroin, a street value of approximately $5,000. The man was also found to allegedly have 10,280 glassine bags of heroine, with a street value of over $100,000.

Read more: http://www.timesleader.com/news/news/50578018/

Coroner Releases Name Of West York Shooting Victim

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting York County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The York County Coroner’s Office has released the name of a West York man found dead outside his home early Tuesday morning.

Lancelot Hylton, 41, of the 1100 block of West King Street, suffered a gunshot wound, York County Coroner Pam Gay said.

He was found dead on the front-porch stairs of his home, officials said.

Read more: http://www.yorkdispatch.com/breaking/ci_26405766/coroner-called-shooting-west-york

York City Police ID Man Found Dead Hours After Gunfire

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting York County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

York City detectives on Monday afternoon had not yet determined why someone fatally shot a Lancaster County man whose body was found hours after he died on a city sidewalk.

“We’re out interviewing people now,” said Detective First Class Jeff Spence, who is supervising the investigation.

Hezekiah Walker’s killer, and the motive for the shooting, has not yet become clear, Spence said.

He said detectives do have some information to follow.

Read more: http://www.yorkdispatch.com/breaking/ci_26357356/york-city-shooting-victim-found-dead-sidewalk-hours

Hazleton Man Charged In Fatal Shooting Outside Bar

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

HAZLETON, PA — Police charged Terrence Clarke in a fatal shooting early Sunday morning witnessed by state troopers who later captured him after a foot chase.

The victim, Garey S. Cox, 45, of East Eighth Street, Hazleton, later died at Lehigh Valley Hospital Cedar Crest in Allentown.

Clarke, 26, of North Locust Street, Hazleton, wounded another man in the shooting the occurred around 2:10 a.m. outside Shaker’s Bar at 711 W. Diamond Ave., police said. The injured man was hospitalized, police said. His name and condition were not available.

Read more:  http://timesleader.com/news/local-news/1168061/Hazleton-man-charged-in-fatal-shooting-outside-bar

Son Charged With Stabbing Mom In Pottstown Home

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

POTTSTOWN, PA — A 23-year-old man allegedly stabbed his mother multiple times with a butcher knife Wednesday evening on the 100 block of Third Street, apparently for no discernible reason, according to Pottstown police.

Jason James Payne, 23, was arrested shortly after he allegedly stabbed Pamela Hadrick and was taken to the Pottstown Police Department where he waived his rights to counsel and admitted to the crime, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed by police.

The affidavit said that Payne was at home Wednesday night with his mother and younger brother and sister, both juveniles. He told police at some point before 7:45 p.m., he “got up and walked into the kitchen, grabbed a butcher knife and stabbed her.”

He said the knife was a foot long and “there was no problem between (him) and his mother that precipitated the stabbing,” according to the affidavit.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20131219/son-charged-with-stabbing-mom-in-pottstown-home

Woman Stabbed On Third Street In Pottstown

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

POTTSTOWN — A woman was reportedly stabbed on the 100 block of Third Street in Pottstown Wednesday night.

Pottstown Police and Goodwill Ambulance responded to the scene around 7:45 p.m.

The victim’s name was not confirmed by police, but she was identified as Pamela Hadrick by Barbara Payne, who said she was her sister.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20131218/woman-stabbed-on-third-street-in-pottstown

LVH-Cedar Crest Undergoing $21 Million Expansion

English: Lehigh Valley Hospital, Allentown, PA, USA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Lehigh Valley’s biggest hospital is getting bigger.

Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest has begun a $21.4 million expansion of its Kasych Family Pavilion in response to patient demand.  When it is done, the hospital will have added 24 patient rooms and three floors to the south tower.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-lehigh-valley-hospital-expansion-20130821,0,6465139.story#ixzz2cetZgxiB
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Man Arrested in Hazleton Stabbing

Downtown Hazleton, PA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A 23-year-old Hazleton man is accused of stabbing another man outside a city bar early Monday morning.

Arrest papers state Jonathan A. Vasquez-Liriano tried entering the King’s Lounge, 511 W. Broad St., with a knife that night but a security worker removed it from him as he entered the business.

When the bar was closing for the night, Vasquez-Liriano asked for the weapon back and a security worker gave it to him.  Almost immediately after, court papers state, the security worker saw police arrest Vasquez-Liriano outside the business.

Read more:  http://standardspeaker.com/news/man-arrested-in-city-stabbing-1.1527565

Hazleton Police Chief: 911 Response To Shooting Victim Calls Unacceptable

Downtown Hazleton, PA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Another of the “bigger concerns” police have is with Luzerne County 911, DeAndrea said.

“Apparently it took over 25 minutes for 911 to answer the phone,” he said.  “There’s a high call volume because it (was) the Fourth of July.  However, there’s a man lying shot, bleeding, on the streets of the city of Hazleton and (911) can’t get the phone answered to dispatch a car.

“So here’s the Hazleton Police Department excited with a 3-minute response, thinking maybe we’re going to catch the shooter with a smoking gun, and it ends up we’re a half hour after the fact,” DeAndrea said.  “That just doesn’t make any sense.”

By talking with the family who lives in the home in front of which the shooting occurred, DeAndrea said, he was trying to pin down how many people called 911.  “The family was actually trying to flag vehicles down in the middle of Diamond Avenue to try and send someone for help,” DeAndrea said.

Read more:  http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news/654857/Chief:-911-response-to-shooting-victim-calls-unacceptable

UPDATE: Hazleton Police ID Suspect In Friday’s Shooting

Downtown Hazleton, PA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

HAZLETON — City police have identified a suspect in the shooting of a 29-year-old man early Friday morning on West Diamond Avenue.

The Hazleton Police Detective Division has applied for an arrest warrant for Juan Carlos Paulino, 26, of 635 N. James St., Apartment 2, Hazleton, police said in a press release.

Police allege that Paulino shot a man, whose name they would not release, multiple times in the chest and abdomen in the 600 block of West Diamond Avenue at about 1:40 Friday morning.

Read more:

http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news/654017/UPDATE:-Hazleton-police-ID-suspect-in-this-mornings-shooting

Hazleton General To Merge With Lehigh Valley Health

English: Lehigh Valley Hospital, Allentown, PA, USA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Greater Hazleton Health Alliance plans to merge with Lehigh Valley Health Network, pending approval by state and federal regulatory agencies, the health groups announced Wednesday.

Greater Hazleton Health Alliance has a staff of more than 1,000 people and includes the 150-bed Hazleton General Hospital and the Hazleton Health & Wellness Center, which provides diagnostic testing and rehabilitation.

It also operates a network of physicians and surgeons in 15 offices. LVHN employs more than 12,000 workers and 1,000 beds at three hospitals.   In addition, it operates nine health centers and numerous physician practices throughout the Lehigh Valley region.

Read more:  http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-lvh-hazleton-merger-20130424,0,1475217.story

DA: Man Shot Wife, Himself In Murder-Suicide At Lehigh Valley Hospital Hospice

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lehigh County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said a man shot and killed his wife then turned the gun on himself Tuesday afternoon in the hospice ward of Lehigh Valley Hospital at 17th and Chew streets.

The woman, 83, was found dead in her bed, Martin said.  The man was also found dead in the room.  The woman was in hospice care, according to Martin.  No one else was in the room.

Martin said at 1:03 p.m. three hospital staff on the fourth floor heard a gunshot coming from one of the hospice rooms. He said the incident was contained to the one patient room.

“I don’t have any more detail I am prepared to release,” Martin said about 2 p.m. at the hospital complex. “There were no eyewitnesses to this event.”

Read more:  http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-allentown-lehigh-valley-hospital-murder-suicide-20130319,0,2694606.story

Sandy’s Lehigh Valley Impact: Two Deaths, Power Outages, Damaged Trees, Closed Roads

Hurricane Sandy left about 400,000 homes and businesses in the Lehigh Valley and Poconos regions in the dark and without as many trees and has been blamed for the death of a 17-year-old Wind Gap boy and a Berks County man.

Robert Mills of 81 Eighth St. died in Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest after crashing an all-terrain-vehicle into a fallen tree about 9:30 p.m. Monday in Plainfield Township, Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim reported. Grim said Mills was thrown off the ATV when he drove into the tree which had fallen on W. Center Street near Route 33, and he suffered fatal head injuries.

A fallen tree also caused the death of a 62-year-old Berks County man Monday night.  The Berks County coroner’s office said Gerald Witman was killed when a tree fell on his home in Pike Township near Boyertown,

Local officials did not report any significant damage to buildings or public structures except for three house fires Monday night in Buck County in the 1300 block of Old Bethlehem Pike near Quakertown and in Tinicum Township and Chalfont.  Though it was not immediately clear if they were linked to the storm, an emergency radio dispatcher said no injuries were reported in the fires.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-superstorm-sandy-allentown-lehigh-valley-storm–20121030,0,2995804.story

Two Men Found Shot To Death In Monroe County Park

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Monroe County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

TOBYHANNA TOWNSHIP – A Pocono Mountain Regional Police officer conducting routine patrol of a township park early this morning discovered two men who had apparently been shot to death, authorities said.

The 2:30 a.m. discovery has prompted a full-scale investigation into the grisly scene at Coolbaugh Twp. Park, where investigators from the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department and the state police are working to collect evidence, said Monroe County Coroner Bob Allen.

Mr. Allen said one of the two men was found inside a car in the park’s parking lot and another just outside the car. Both are believed to be from Monroe County and to have died from gunshot wounds, he said.

Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/two-men-found-shot-to-death-in-monroe-county-park-1.1360088

One Dead, 9 Injured After Lightning Strike At Pocono Raceway

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Monroe County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

LONG POND – One fan was killed and nine others injured Sunday after being struck by lightning in the midst of a violent thunderstorm that overwhelmed Pocono Raceway just after the conclusion of NASCAR‘s Pennsylvania 400, track officials confirmed.

The victim, whose name was not released pending the notification of family, was pronounced dead at Pocono Medical Center by emergency room director Dr. Peter Favini, raceway president and CEO Brandon Igdalsky said. Nine others remained hospitalized at various area hospitals, one critically.

“Unfortunately, a member of our raceway family here, a fan, has passed away,” Igdalsky said. “On behalf of myself and my entire family and everybody here, really heartfelt thoughts.”

Track spokesman Bob Pleban said one of the injured fans remained in critical condition at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest. Two others were taken to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Wilkes-Barre, one with a moderate injury and the other with a minor one. Another fan with a minor injury was taken to Pocono Medical Center, and five others were treated and released at the raceway.

Read more: http://republicanherald.com/news/one-dead-9-injured-after-lightning-strike-at-pocono-raceway-1.1355045

Muhlenberg Woman Beaten By Daughter With Meat Tenderizing Mallet

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lehigh County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  Nothing says I love you Mom like a couple whacks with a mallet!  WTH!

A 79-year-old Muhlenberg Township woman was beaten by her 55-year-old daughter with a meat tenderizing mallet in the daughter’s Lehigh County residence, state police said Tuesday.

Teresa Kauffman was taken by ambulance to Lehigh Valley Hospital, near Allentown, for injuries suffered in the attack early Monday morning in the Lower Macungie Township home, investigators said.

A hospital spokeswoman said Kauffman was in fair condition Tuesday.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/Article.aspx?id=381669

More Details On Benton, PA Plane Crash

Image via Wikipedia

Here is some updated information on the plane crash story below.

The pilot of the crashed plane, James Caswell, 22 of Lake Ariel, PA, was airlifted to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown.  Mr. Caswell suffers from a broken leg and bruises.  There were no other passengers on board.

The rented plane took off from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport in Avoca and flew to Lancaster.  Caswell was returning to Avoca when the single-engine, fixed-wing Piper aircraft crashed near Benton, PA, Sunday evening around 9 p.m.  The plane was rented from FBO Air WB Leasing, Inc., located at Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport.

Fortunately, Caswell was able to reach help by using his cell phone after crashing.