KINGSTON, Pa. — Andy Kondratick of Kingston and his dog Mia walk up and down Wyoming Avenue in Kingston every day. He tells Newswatch 16 that he's noticed something dangerous about people's behavior on the road over the last five years.
"They really do speed up and down the street. I was surprised. I really am," said Kondratick.
Kingston Police Chief Richard Kotchik says speeding and crashes are on the rise.
"We are currently, over the last eight months here, we have a lot more crashes than we normally do. They're way up this year," said Chief Kotchik.
Sunday's crash killed two people in a vehicle turning onto Wyoming Avenue — Austin Heck, 25, of Plymouth; and James Wheeler, 27, of Nanticoke.
"This was one of the worst accidents I've seen in a while. I'll say this, too – a double fatal, I've never seen one here, and I've been here 23, 24 years. I've never seen one in Kingston, and I and most of my guys have not, so it was a bad crash," said Kotchik.
The victims' sedan was turning left onto Wyoming Avenue when it was hit by a single driver in a Jeep heading north.
"It's tragic, but what do you do? How do you stop them? What do you do? Like you can't have a cop on every corner, I guess. But anyway, it's a shame that happened," added Kondratick.
Chief Kotchik says his department will work with officials to determine how much speeding played into the outcome of the crash.
"If charges are appropriate, we will make some charges. We will charge appropriately. The DA's office is also involved," added Kotchik.
The police chief says the driver of the Jeep was sent to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A search warrant will allow police to collect data from the vehicles to see how much speed had to do with the outcome of the crash. It's still under investigation in Kingston.
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