x
Breaking News
More () »

Parents Who Lost Son in Deadly 2010 Crash on Route 220 Want Traffic Lights

WOODWARD TOWNSHIP — In a span of about 24 hours, there were two deadly crashes within two miles of each other on the same stretch of road. For years, a fa...
lyc-fatal

WOODWARD TOWNSHIP -- In a span of about 24 hours, there were two deadly crashes within two miles of each other on the same stretch of road.

For years, a family has pushed to make the road safer after their son died there, too.

Parts of a PT Cruiser lay broken along a guide rail on Route 220 near Williamsport after a single car crash marked the third crash on this stretch of the highway in just 24 hours, the second to be deadly.

Once again, the crash had Route 220 shut down for hours.

It's not clear what caused the driver to lose control and go down an embankment, but rescue crews say she and her male passenger went to the hospital critically injured. The Lycoming County coroner said the man later died in the emergency room.

This crash comes a day after two other crashes took place just a few miles away--both on Route 220. In one of those crashes, two men were killed while changing a tire around 4:30 p.m. Monday.

“I left work today,” said Gale Grove.  “It's very traumatic.”

Seeing those crashes on the news has been devastating for Gale and her husband Bret of Cogan Station. They lost their 17-year-old son Dalton back in 2010 in a crash in the exact same spot of Tuesday's crash, right in front of a Sheetz gas station at the intersection of Route 220 and Pine Run Road.

“I call the intersection Dalton's Cross. It's a cross,“ said Gale.

“He was coming out of the Sheetz, crossing over to Pine Run,” said Bret. “Every time an accident happens up there, it's like starting over again.”

Since Dalton's death, the Groves have been pushing for safety measures at that intersection of Route 220 and Pine Run Road, going to both state and local lawmakers and Sheetz corporate.

They've been fighting with other concerned residents, calling themselves the “220 Coalition.”

“Well they need red lights on that road and that's really the only solution to it, is to put traffic lights there and slow the traffic down,” said Bret.

“Our representatives, we've gone to them over and over and over again,” said Gale. “And this has been a campaign that we have all taken to in this area.”

Before You Leave, Check This Out