News

June 19, 2008

Two troopers, firefighter honored for saving life

Two died in fiery crash in 2007. One other, a state trooper, was saved by trio.

By Andrew M. Seder aseder@timesleader.com
Times Leader Staff Writer
Andrew M. Seder on Facebook   |   @TLAndrewSeder on Twitter

Two people died in a deadly crash last year – and because of the efforts of two state troopers and a volunteer firefighter, a third victim was able to attend Wednesday’s ceremony honoring the three heroes.

Trooper First Class William Gross, 39, and Trooper Robert Rogers, 40, both of the Tunkhannock barracks, were presented the State Police Medal of Honor. Lehman Township Assistant Fire Chief Dennis Bernard Dobinick was given an Outstanding Citizenship Award.

The deadly crash occurred May 20, 2007. Gross and Rogers were the first to arrive on the scene of the crash along Route 29 in Lake Township. They were pursuing a car that refused to stop for a traffic violation in Wyoming County. That vehicle crashed head-on into a car driven by Trooper Truman Brandt from the Wyoming barracks.

Both Brandt’s vehicle and the one fleeing police erupted in flames. Brandt, knocked unconscious from the crash, was unable to exit his car. Dobinick arrived on scene not long after and assisted the troopers in pulling Brandt out of his patrol car.

Brandt, who was airlifted to Community Medical Center in Scranton, suffered multiple broken bones and is still on medical leave.

On Wednesday, Brandt, a 16-year veteran of the force, from Dallas, joined the three men credited with saving his life for the ceremony at the State Police Academy in Hershey.

Gross and Rogers were unable to extricate the passenger of the vehicle, Mathew Harrison, 19, of Harveys Lake, before he died in the flames. The driver, John Edward Reilly, 18, of Dallas, had been partially ejected in the crash and also died at the scene, according to police reports.

Andrew M. Seder, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 570-829-7269.

Tweet	Follow @TLnews

This story also appears on the following websites...