Log In


Reset Password

State Police at Frackville - crashes

State police at Frackville reported on the following crashes:

• A GMC Acadia operated by Elven C. Smith, 62, of Apex, North Carolina, was damaged in a crash at 4:49 p.m. Oct. 6 on Interstate 81 in Mahanoy Township. He and a passenger, Justin B. Walkup, 36, of Vass, North Carolina, were uninjured in the incident.

Police said Smith was driving the vehicle northbound when he lost control of it due to wet/rainy conditions. It traveled off the right side of the road and struck a traffic sign before continuing to strike trees on the right side of the interstate.

• Kaleb J. Jennings, 25, and Trevor W. Ochs, both 25 and of Schuylkill Haven, escaped injuries in a one-vehicle crash at 12:32 p.m. Oct. 5 on Interstate 81 in Ryan Township.

Police said Jennings was driving a 2016 Dodge Ram 2500 southbound when it left the lane of travel and struck a guide rail. Ochs was a passenger in the vehicle.

Police said the truck had disabling damages and was towed from the scene.

• No one was hurt when a 2020 Jeep Cherokee struck a deer on Interstate 81 in Delano Township at 12:16 a.m. Oct. 10.

Police said Jack J. Sabbagh, 20, of Brooklyn, New York, was driving the vehicle northbound when the deer ran into the roadway and was struck. It sustained disabling damages and was towed from the scene.

Neither the driver nor passenger Zachary E. Gindi, 19, also of Brooklyn, were injured.

State police at the Frackville barracks said a 2020 Jeep Cherokee had to be towed from Interstate 81 in Delano Township after it struck a deer that entered its path.

It happened at mile marker 135.4 in Delano Township.

• Craig V. Sinkovich, 29, of Pottsville, was uninjured when a 2018 Hyundai Kona he was driving struck a deer at 7:11 a.m. Oct. 11 on Interstate 81 in Mahanoy Township. Police said he was northbound at the time the deer entered the roadway. The car’s engine compartment sustained damages that required it to be towed from the scene, police said.

• Injuries were averted when a driver experienced a medical episode while traveling west on Route 443 in East Brunswick Township at 12:19 p.m. Oct. 9.

Police said Lathon J. Miller, 31, of Tamaqua, was driving the 2019 Jeep Wrangler at the time. After the episode, he lost control of the vehicle, but the front-seat passenger, Shana L. Miller, 52, also of Tamaqua, assisted him to navigate the vehicle to a final rest after it struck a mailbox. The Jeep was towed from the scene, police said.

• Two people were injured in a crash at 2:15 p.m. Oct. 14 at the intersection of Furnace Street and the Gold Star Highway in Mahanoy Township.

Police said the drivers, Antonio Ryant Gordon, 43, and Julia A. Buchinsky, 65, both of Shenandoah, were transported to the Lehigh Valley Hospital-East, Pottsville, by Shenandoah and Washington Fire Company ambulance personnel. Police said the extent of their injuries is unknown.

Police said the crash happened when Ryant Gordon, driving a 2019 Nissan Sentra, was northbound on the Gold Star Highway while Buchinsky, operating a 2020 Jeep. He was stopped on Furnace Street waiting to turn onto Route 924. Police said Ryant Gordon lost control of his vehicle, which veered west and struck the Jeep before spinning 180 degrees and coming to rest. Police said the Jeep traveled about 80 feet and came to rest in a grassy area. Both vehicles sustained disabling damages and were towed from the scene.

Police said Ryant Gordon was cited for the crash.

• Michael A. Stewart, 32, of Tamaqua, was uninjured in a one-vehicle crash at 6:52 p.m. Oct. 13 on Interstate 81 in Ryan Township.

Police said he was driving a 2010 Chrysler Town and Country van southbound and was attempting to change lanes when an unknown vehicle, possibly a black/blue SUV, crossed into his lane and sideswiped the van. Police said Stewart pulled off onto the shoulder of the road while the striking vehicle continued southbound on the interstate.

• No one was injured in a two-vehicle mishap at 4:20 p.m. Oct. 13 at the intersection of Claremont Avenue and Maple Street in Hometown, Rush Township. Police said it happened when a 2005 Pontiac Grand Am operated by Kerry V. McCoy Jr., 54, of Coaldale, stopped on Maple Street at the intersection with Claremont Avenue, while Osvaldo A. Urena Luna, 26, of Hazleton, driving a 2022 Honda Civic, traveling south on Claremont Avenue, slowed to allow McCoy to turn right. Police said the Grand Am, however, went straight and traveled east to cross Claremont Avenue and was struck by the Honda.

Police said both vehicles had disabling damages and were towed from the scene.

They said McCoy was cited for not having a signed registration with him.