Driver in Nov. 15 crash dies

A Bethlehem man died in Lehigh Valley Hospital near Allentown of injuries suffered about two weeks earlier in a two-vehicle collision on Route 61 in Hamburg, the Lehigh County coroner’s office announced Dec. 1.

James Sisko, 78, was pronounced dead Nov. 30 at 11:40 a.m. by a staff physician. He died of multiple injuries and the manner of death was ruled accidental, Coroner Eric D. Minnich said in a news release.

Sisko was the 32nd person to die in 2020 as a result of crashes on Berks County roads.

Borough police and the coroner’s office are investigating.

According to the crash report:

Sisko was driving a car south on Route 61 with a passenger about 3 p.m. on Nov. 15 when he turned left at Grand Street into the path of a northbound SUV driven by James F. MacDougall, 31, Mount Penn.

The SUV struck the front passenger side of Sisko’s car.

The first police officer arrived to find an unresponsive man later identified as Sisko lying in the middle of the road, covered in blankets.

A passenger in the car, Cheryl L. Delarosa, 48, Bethlehem, was trapped in the wreckage. Firefighters and medics used hydraulic equipment to remove her from the vehicle.

Sisko and Delarosa were taken transported by Hamburg Ambulance to the hospital. Information on Delarosa’s medical condition was unavailable.

Both occupants of the car wore seat belts.

McDougall wasn’t injured. He had two child passengers, ages 5 and 10. They were in the back seat of the SUV, restrained by seat belts but not in child booster seats.

The children were taken by Schuylkill Valley Ambulance to Reading Hospital for evaluation.

MacDougall was cited for summary violations for improper child restraint systems and not having vehicle registration and certificate of title.