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State police give details of two I-78 fatal crashes

State police at Hamburg have updated the details of the two fatal crashes along Interstate 78 in Berks County that occurred late Tuesday night.

The first crash occurred at 8:22 p.m. in Tilden Township. Troopers said Brenda Brownfield, 69, of Georgia, was driving a new school bus to be delivered in Canada, eastbound in the right lane and approaching stopped traffic. The traffic was stopped due to left lane closure in a work zone. Brownfield failed to observe the stopped traffic and the front of the bus struck the rear of a Chevrolet Cruze. The bus continued eastbound with the Cruze stuck under it, hitting a Nissan Xterra. The Nissan was then pushed into the rear trailer portion of a commercial vehicle.

Troopers said the driver of the Cruze, a 20-year-old man, and a front seat passenger in the Nissan, were killed and pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Nissan was identified as Warren Jackson of New Jersey and the driver of the commercial vehicle as Jaspreet Chahal, 32, of Pennsylvania.

As traffic was being detoured off I-78 due to the crash, the second fatal crash occurred in Upper Tulpehocken Township. Two people died in that crash which occurred at the Strausstown exit. Killed in that crash was a 54-year-old man from Williamsport and a 24-year-old woman from Reading, who were in separate vehicles.

The names of the deceased are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.