DEATH ON 320
1 DEAD AS CAR SLAMS INTO BOX TRUCK IN NETHER PROV
Police tape closes off scene of fatal accident at the intersection of Route 320 and Route 252 in Nether Providence Monday. One person was killed when an SUV collided with the back of a box truck.
NETHER PROVIDENCE >> A devastating crash at the intersection of routes 320 and 252 in Nether Providence on Monday claimed the life of an unidentified individual whose vehicle, to the horror of witnesses, collided with a stationary box truck waiting for a light to turn left.
The silver SUV was wedged under the truck — a locally-based hazardous waste removal company — to such an extent that the left rear bumper of the truck had carved through the hood and embedded into the driver’s side windshield of the passenger vehicle.
Police said the driver was pronounced dead at the scene, while an unidentified passenger sustained injuries and was taken with haste to Crozer-Chester Medical Center.
“The driver of the (box truck) has been interviewed by detectives and the initial indication is the box truck was stopped at the light in traffic waiting for the signal to turn green to make a left turn and was struck from behind by the (SUV),” said Nether Providence Police Chief David Splain.
The box truck had been heading north on Route 320, Providence Road, when it pulled into the left turning lane to bear left at the split onto Route 252. According to a witness, the lights were green for traffic continuing up Route 320 while the left turning lane was cycling on the red arrow, meaning traffic was stopped with the box truck the only vehicle waiting in line.
A witness who was trailing behind the SUV said the vehicle “drove right into the truck” as if the driver never saw it in front of them. Police said the left turn arrow had been recently added by PennDOT in order to avoid accidents that happened in the past.
“Recently PennDOT did a study here and changed some of the configurations. They added that left turn signal,” Splain said.
He added that there had been a reduction in accidents until Monday’s fatal.
“Historically, it has been bad here,” he said.
Some neighbors wagered that accidents occur at the intersection “once or twice a month.”
By 3 p.m., more than a dozen onlookers watched as police, fire, rescue and collision experts carefully separated the two vehicles to free the deceased nearly three hours after the time of the initial crash.
With caution, obscured behind tarps held in a veil around the mangled vehicle, workers needed hydraulic rescue tools to peel away the metal from the passenger car, accumulating in a pile of shredded metal on the roadway.
Police declined to identify the driver of the vehicle.
“Out of courtesy to the family I want to allow them to be notified in the proper manner,” Splain said. “We’re working to get that accomplished right now with the Medical Examiner’s office.”
Rescuers from Garden City Fire Department, Nether Providence Utility, Brookhaven Fire Department, South Media Fire Rescue worked in conjunction with investigators from Upper Providence Police Department, Nether Providence Police Department and the Delaware County District Attorney’s office.
The section of Route 320 was closed for more than four hours Monday afternoon as officials worked the scene.