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Update: More Details After Three Killed in Crash in Monroe County

STROUD TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Three people are dead after a crash in Monroe County. It happened along Route 209 near Shafers Schoolhouse Road in Stroud Township ...

STROUD TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Three people are dead after a crash in Monroe County.

It happened along Route 209 near Shafers Schoolhouse Road in Stroud Township around 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

According to investigators, three vehicles were involved. The coroner was called to the scene, and officials confirmed three people are dead.

The Monroe County coroner identified the victims as Matthew Haller, 20, of Wind Gap, who was driving a Ford Mustang, and Ronald Bogart, 68, and his brother, Chester, 74, both of East Stroudsburg, who were in a Subaru Forester.

According to police, two Ford Mustangs were going south on Route 209. Both drivers lost control and crossed the median into the northbound lane. Haller's Mustang hit the Subaru head-on, causing both vehicles to burst into flames. The other Mustang continued traveling south in the northbound lane and hit a guide rail.

All four lanes of Route 209 north and south were closed from Interstate 80 to Route 33 for hours after the crash. The road reopened around 2 p.m. Monday.

Kathy Cramer could see the crash from her home along Route 209.

"Heard the bang, shook the house. I came out to see what the heck it was, and I saw the flames. The flames were up above the trees. It was terrible," Cramer said.

Jay Seidel lives along Route 209 as well. He says he heard the crash.

"That was one accident. It was unbelievable. I haven't seen an accident like that since I came back from Nam. These people around here, they cringe when they have to cross that road."

"I think it's terrible. I really do. It's a shame for the families involved. That intersection is a bad intersection, and people fly down the road," said Charlene Becker of Stroud Township.

That intersection has been called a problem in the past. The four-way intersection has been considered dangerous for years because of the number and severity of crashes in that area.

Last year, PennDOT announced plans to remove a traffic light and ban left-hand turns. At the time, PennDOT officials said the construction phase of that project wouldn't start until 2020.

PennDOT officials say that project is on track, but this crash will not speed up the process.

"Fixing the problem is eliminating the light. It's been going on for a while now, and this is not the first fatality up there," said Frank Calafiore of Sciota.

"The intersection isn't bad. It's the people who are traveling on them here. They have to do something to slow them down. If you get them to slow down, they are going to eliminate all the accidents," said Seidel.

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