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One hurt in Hometown collision

A male driver was taken to the hospital Monday with unknown injuries after his vehicle apparently rear-ended a car waiting to make a left turn at one of Rush Township's most troublesome intersections.

According to those at the scene, the 3:50 p.m. crash took place when a dark green Subaru Forester collided with the rear of a gray Ford Escape occupied by a male and female who appeared to escape injury.

The crash took place on Route 309 at the intersection of Claremont Avenue and Lincoln Drive in the vicinity of Basile's Italian Restaurant, the site of many serious and fatal collisions over the past 15 years.

Both vehicles were traveling northbound, said witnesses, and the Ford Escape appeared to be in the left, or passing lane, awaiting an opportunity to turn onto a restaurant parking lot or else onto Lincoln Drive.

The identities of the occupants were not available.

"Something has to be done here. We need a traffic light," said restaurateur Vito Basile.

The popular eatery and banquet hall is in the process of a major overhaul and expansion. As part of the construction, Basile opted to redesign his large parking lot in the interest of public safety.

"I pulled back my parking lot this distance," he said, pointing to a safety barrier he created measuring at least 10 additional feet from the busy, four-lane highway. But no matter what is done at that location, the crashes continue, said Basile, and it's time for corrective action by public officials and PennDOT.

The heavily damaged Subaru was pushed to the side of the road by emergency responders in order to open the northbound lanes to traffic as they awaited arrival of a towing service.