By Justin Strawser
The Daily Item
SUNBURY, Pa. — Northumberland County commissioners are planning to release a report today detailing their findings after investigating claims from state troopers that the county 911 center did not immediately dispatch emergency responders to the scene of a multi-vehicle accident on May 27.
The delay, according to Stonington state police, caused three more accidents outside Elysburg near the intersection of Route 61 and Old Reading Turnpike Road around 7:30 a.m. May 27.
Commissioner Rick Shoch at Tuesday’s public meeting announced that he and other county officials are discussing how to move forward with the information from the investigation.
“The reason we haven’t responded is because we wanted to gather all the information and look at the time frames involved,” Shoch said.
The announcement was made after Robert Derk, an officer with the Brady Fire Company in Coal Township, asked the board to consider the lack of training the 911 center employees have due to budget cuts from the previous commissioner’s administration. He said he feared someone would lose their job when it wasn’t their fault.
“I don’t want to see someone fired due to improper training,” Derk said.
Shoch said he “agreed whole-heartedly” and no action would be taken without first considering all the information.
County Communication Center Supervisor Russ Fellman was busy Tuesday with the county’s 911 upgrades project and could not attend the meeting, Shoch said.
Trooper Tyler Watson, of the Stonington Police Barracks, was dispatched to the first accident and requested that fire equipment, emergency medical personnel and fire police also be dispatched to the scene, but state police said the dispatcher at the 911 center refused to do so until injuries were confirmed. The request was made because the particular crash scene was on a curve with heavy traffic, police said.
Within five minutes, three additional accidents occurred, two of which were reportable with injuries and vehicles that had to be towed, police said.
The first accident involved Diane Howerter, 49, of Coal Township, who was driving south on Route 61 in a 2003 Ford Focus. Howerter veered off the right side of the road, lost control and skidded sideways, striking a northbound Jeep Wrangler being driven by Christopher M. Alderson, 38, of Shamokin. The Jeep rotated three times before coming to rest along the railroad tracks next to the roadway.
Approximately five minutes later, Tiffany J. Abdill, 29, of Shamokin, was driving north and became distracted by the crash scene. It caused her to drive her Ford Explorer into the back of a Ford F-150 being driven by Johnathan J. Slodysko, 35, of Coal Township. Then, Russ McKinney, 69, of Sunbury, was slowing down in his Dodge Dakota and was struck from behind by a Doge Ram 1500, which was being driven by James S. Thomas III, 36, of Shamokin. Thomas was also distracted by the crash scene, police said.
Finally, Sean R. Mikulak, 32, of Coal Township, crashed his Harley Davidson Sportster as he came upon the stopped vehicles.
McKinney, who will be cited for a traffic violation, was taken to the Geisinger-Shamokin Area Community Hospital.
Sgt. Raymond O’Donnell, the station’s commander, Cpl. Joseph Bushta and Trooper Todd Leiby also responded to the accident. O’Donnell could not be reached for further comment Monday.
In other business, Commissioner Sam Schiccatano said a small fire that closed the third floor of the county-owned Northumblerand County Career and Arts Center Monday was caused by an error when replacing an air conditioning unit.
A contractor was soldering pipes and caused gas to ignite and explode inside a small closet. It was a “very small fire” that was extinguished immediately, but it sent smoke throughout the building, Schiccatano said.
Shamokin District Judge John Gembic reopened his office Tuesday, and the air conditioning unit was successfully installed, Schiccatano said.
The commissioner thanked the Shamokin fire fighters for their handling of the situation.
Copyright 2016 The Daily Item