News

April 25, 2008

McAdoo man dies in head-on

Second driver airlifted to Lehigh Valley Hospital; early-afternoon crash closes road until evening.

JEN MARCKINI jmarckini@timesleader.com

BUTLER TWP. – A 69-year-old McAdoo man died and a Freeland man was airlifted to a hospital after their vehicles collided just east of the intersection of East Butler Drive and Woodside Drive on Thursday afternoon, police said.

Joseph T. Gigliotti of McAdoo was eastbound on East Butler Drive when his 1993 Ford Tempo crashed head-on with a 2000 Oldsmobile Bravada, driven by 24-year-old Kevin M. Prussock, that was headed west, said Butler Township Police Sgt. Dave Pavelko.

“One car was heading east, one car west and they hit,” Pavelko said.

Gigliotti was pronounced dead at the scene by Luzerne County Deputy Coroner Jeffrey Stock, according to the sergeant. The crash happened around 1:30 p.m., he said.

The other driver, Prussock, was taken by Valley Regional Ambulance to a landing site at Carmen’s Country Inn, where he was flown by medical helicopter to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pavelko said.

No charges have been filed, he said, adding that the crash is still under investigation. Police crash reconstruction specialists are continuing their investigation.

Traffic was detoured just after 3 p.m. in the area between routes 309 and 940, which remained closed until early Thursday evening, said Karen Dussinger, a spokeswoman for Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

State police at Hazleton and Freeland police, along with Valley Regional Fire and Rescue Company, assisted township police with rerouting traffic, Pavelko said.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact Butler Township police at 788-4111.

Jen Marckini, a Times Leader staff writer, can be reached at 829-7210.

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