West Penn Twp. man killed in crash
A West Penn Township man was among two individuals who died in a fatal crash in Berks County late Thursday evening.
Daniel I. Miller, 21, of South Tamaqua, and another unidentified victim, were found dead inside the burned 2006 Dodge Dakota pickup truck on Route 143 in Albany Township.Miller was a 2011 graduate of Tamaqua Area High School, and a graduate of UTI Trade School for diesel mechanics. He was the son of Randy S. and Catherine Miller.It is unknown whether Miller was the driver or the passenger of the vehicle in the crash, which occurred around 11:30 p.m. Thursday.Contacted Friday evening, state police at Hamburg said they could not release the names of the victims because they did not have anything official at that time.An accident report sent by state police at Hamburg said the driver and passenger were unknown. The driver was wearing a seat belt. The passenger was not.The vehicle was driving northbound on Route 143, and the road at the time of the crash was wet due to earlier rain, the report said.The driver approached a right curve in the roadway, and was unable to negotiate the curve, causing the vehicle to travel off the west side of the roadway and strike a series of four trees.After impact with the second tree, the vehicle began to spin counter-clockwise, and struck a third and then a fourth tree, where it came to final rest facing southbound and off the roadway.The vehicle became engulfed in flames as a result of the crash.Both victims were found deceased in the vehicle. Their cause of death is pending.The victims of this crash have not been identified at this point, the report said.However, an obituary for Miller was submitted to the TIMES NEWS Friday evening (see page 4), confirming that he was one of the victims killed in the fiery one-car crash.The Kempton Fire Department, New Tripoli Fire Department, and Lynnport Fire Department assisted at the scene.They were assisted by Northwest EMS, Hamburg EMS, the Berks County Coroner's Office, and Patriot's Towing.