Bethlehem woman killed in Montgomery County crash
Other driver, child hurt and road closed for several hours due to damage
FRANCONIA — A woman was killed Thursday afternoon following a two-vehicle crash on Mininger Road.
Crews were dispatched to the scene near the intersection with Milburn Court at 5:43 p.m. for a report of a multi-vehicle crash with injuries and entrapment. Arriving police located two vehicles — a Ford Explorer and a Dodge Charger — with heavy damage in the road.
Citing witness accounts, police said the Dodge was traveling westbound on Mininger Road at a high rate of speed when it struck the Ford, which was exiting a residential driveway. The force of the crash caused the Ford to rollover before coming to rest upright on the side of the road, police said.
The driver of the Ford has been identified as 72-year-old Paula Ann Wilson, of Bethlehem. Police said Wilson was briefly trapped in the wreckage before being rescued by first responders. She was subsequently transported from the scene via ambulance to Grand View Hospital, where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
A seven-year-old passenger inside of the Ford was also transported via ambulance to Grand View Hospital for observation, police said.
A small fire ignited in the Dodge, however it was quickly extinguished by first responders. The driver of the Dodge, identified as a 20-year-old male from Hatfield Township, was able to get out of his vehicle on his own and was transported to Grand View Hospital, where he is currently listed in stable condition.
Mininger Road was closed between Cowpath Road and Elroy Road until 9:40 p.m. as Franconia Township Police and the Montgomery County Detective Bureau’s Crash Reconstruction Unit processed the scene. Police were also assisted at the scene by units from Telford and Souderton Borough police departments, Perseverance Fire Department, VMSC Emergency Medical Services, and DeWane’s Garage Towing.
The crash remains under investigation at this time. Anyone with information regarding the crash is asked to call the Franconia Township Police Department at 215-7236778.