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Prosecutors Saddened By Deadly Crashes

OLD FORGE — It has been a horrible weekend on the roads in our area. Crashes have killed nearly a dozen people. And tragically, those numbers include seve...
zupon

OLD FORGE -- It has been a horrible weekend on the roads in our area. Crashes have killed nearly a dozen people. And tragically, those numbers include several children.

Flowers, a teddy bear, and a baseball signed by friends left on South Keyser Avenue in Old Forge represent what has been a devastating weekend for many families in northeastern Pennsylvania.

The small display was left in memory of one of the many crash victims in our area this Labor Day weekend.

In Old Forge, 12-year-old Leonard Zupon Jr. was killed after the car his dad was driving was hit by an SUV.  Police said that driver, David Turano of Carbondale, ran from the crash scene.

Police found him later and suspect he was under the influence.

"I'm not sure how we're ever going to convince people that this can happen to you, and not to encourage people. We're not against people having fun or having entertaining parties, just don't get behind the wheel of a vehicle," said Lackawanna County Assistant District Attorney Robert Klein.

The Zupons' tragedy is exactly the scenario prosecutors, like Klein, try to avoid, especially on holiday weekends.

DUI checkpoints that were held in Lackawanna County this weekend did net some arrests. But, police and prosecutors were angered by the amount of drivers who complained about the inconvenience.

"If you look at this poor family now that's lost a 12 year old, they would gladly sign up for 15 or 20 minutes of delay on a highway while we check for people who might be under the influence of alcohol," Klein added.

Police are still investigating the crash the killed 12-year-old Lenny Zupon. They're waiting on the results of blood tests before deciding to file charges against the driver, David Turano.

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