x
Breaking News
More () »

Driver Arrested for Deadly Scranton Crash

SCRANTON, Pa. — A Scranton man was killed Friday morning in a crash on Pittston Avenue. Another Scranton man has been charged and is locked up in Lackawan...

SCRANTON, Pa. -- A Scranton man was killed Friday morning in a crash on Pittston Avenue. Another Scranton man has been charged and is locked up in Lackawanna County.

Robert Ortiz, 20, of Scranton, died after the wreck at the intersection of Pittston Avenue and Breck Street.

robert ortiz

Ortiz leaves behind his fiancée, who is eight months pregnant and a 2-year-old son.

 

People looked on in shock at the damage at the intersection of Pittston Avenue and Breck Street on Scranton's south side, calling this one of the worst wrecks they've ever seen.

"I've seen a lot of accidents because it's Pittston Avenue and it's a main street, but I've never seen anything like this," said Neil Regan.

Shortly before 2:30 a.m., Scranton police say Cohen was speeding on Pittston Avenue. At the intersection of Breck Street, his vehicle T-boned Ortiz's car.

Investigators say Ortiz was thrown from the vehicle.

His car ended up more than 100 feet from the intersection. In court papers, police say Cohen appeared to be intoxicated and was unable to finish sentences. Cohen admitted to police that he had been drinking at a nightclub downtown.

Ortiz's family is devastated by his death.

"He was a good kid, a good kid," said the victim's mother Ana Ortiz. "My son. I just buried, not too long ago, my oldest son and now this one. It's just not fair.

Ortiz was the father of a 2-year-old son. His fiancée is expecting another son soon.

"When I noticed he got a kid, I said, 'this is the time, you grew up without a father, this is a time to be there for him. This is your time. This is your time to change a life, to make a life, to set the path.' When I seen him with a kid, I was like 'man, I hope he's not like everybody else, don't want to do what he has to do.' I was completely wrong and I'm happy I was wrong because he was a father. He loved his kid," said his cousin Yahnzy Ortiz.

Cohen has been charged with DUI and reckless endangerment. He's locked up in the Lackawanna County Prison.

Before You Leave, Check This Out