Two area residents were killed when a Veterans Affairs van crashed into the side of a tractor-trailer Monday morning in Cass Township.

Schuylkill County Coroner Dr. David Moylan confirmed the two killed in the crash were James Metzger, 67, of Barnesville, and Elaine Bradley, 73, of Tamaqua.Metzger, the van's driver, and Bradley, a backseat passenger, were pronounced dead at the scene.A third occupant of the van, later identified as Leonard Valitski, 79, of Mahanoy City, was transported from the scene with serious injuries.The driver of the rig, identified as Narwinger Singh, was uninjured.Cass Township police believe the tractor-trailer was eastbound on Keystone Boulevard when it and the van, heading southbound on Highridge Park Road, collided at the intersection.Schuylkill County Commissioners released a statement, saying the transport van belonged to the Lebanon Disabled American Veterans volunteer program and expressed their deepest sympathies for the families of the two killed in the crash.The U.S. Veterans Affairs makes the transport vans available for Schuylkill County veterans.A virtual autopsy was scheduled for Monday night.