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State police called to 10 incidents on turnpike

Ten incidents on the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania - including a car having struck and killed a bear - kept state police at the Pocono barracks busy in recent weeks.

• The incident involving the bear happened at 2:54 p.m. June 30 at mile marker 95.3 in Kidder Township.

Police said a 2018 Subaru Forester operated by Joseph A. Schwartz, 60, of Melrose Park, was northbound in the right lane of travel when the bear entered the roadway. The car struck and killed the bear before coming to rest on the shoulder of the road. It had a damaged right bumper, grill and radiator and multiple air bags deployed, but no one was injured. The vehicle was towed from the scene.

Police said the Pennsylvania Game Commission was contacted with regards to the location of the bear.

• Jose S. Montes, 42, of Coatesville, was injured in a motorcycle crash at 1:30 p.m. June 11 at mile marker 75.6 in Franklin Township.

He was transported by personnel from the Lehighton Ambulance Association to the St. Luke’s Hospital, Carbon Campus, Franklin Township. Police said the extent of his injuries is unknown.

He was operating a 2023 Kawasaki northbound on the deceleration ramp of the Mahoning Valley Interchange when the cycle overturned, causing Montes to be thrown from it.

Police said he sustained a right shoulder injury.

He was cited for failure to drive at a safe speed.

• A blown tire was the cause of a one-vehicle crash at 1:20 p.m. June 28 at mile marker 69.6 in Washington Township. No one was injured.

Police said Miguel E. Lebron Montas, 38, of Wilkes-Barre, was operating a 2021 Isuzu southbound when the tire blew, causing him to lose control and overturn, blocking both lanes of traffic. The car was towed from the scene.

• A Lehighton ambulance sustained minor damages in an incident at 11:52 a.m. June 29 in the Lehigh Tunnel.

Police said Stephanie S. Bongo, 38, of Palmerton, was operating the 2022 Ford Econoline southbound in Washington Township when its driver’s side mirror was impacted by the driver’s side of a white camper that was northbound.

Police said the incident happened in the northbound tunnel because southbound traffic was diverted there due to maintenance being done in the southbound tunnel. The white camper continued after the impact.

Police said the ambulance driver reported the incident after exiting the turnpike on a transport of a patient to the Lehigh Valley Hospital, Salisbury Township.

No one was injured in the incident.

• Police investigated a multiple-vehicle crash at 1:33 p.m. June 29 at mile marker 68.6 in Washington Township.

They said Sukhmanjot Singh, 25, of Brampton, Ontario, Canada, was driving a 2020 Western Star commercial vehicle when he failed to control its speed and it impacted the rear end of a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado operated by Charles H. Gerben, 73, of Sparrows Point, Maryland, which in turn struck the back end of a 2016 Ford Edge driven by Michael A. Arner, 35, of Lehighton.

Police said Gerben and a passenger, Sherry A. Gerben, 67, of Sparrows Point, were treated at the scene by personnel from the Northern Valley Ambulance.

Police said Singh was cited for failure to drive at a safe speed.

• Two people were cited after a crash at 10:35 p.m. June 30 at mile marker 84.9 in Penn Forest Township.

Police said Fleurime I. Belizaire, 53, of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, was driving a 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe southbound when it hit the concrete barrier to the left of the road, traveled onto the right shoulder and sideswiped a 2007 Nissan Altima driven by William J. Petroski, 31, of Philadelphia. No one was injured in the incident. The Altima was towed from the scene.

Police said Belizaire was cited for careless driving and Petroski was cited for driving while his operating privileges are suspended or revoked.

• Police took a Wilkes-Barre man into custody on an arrest warrant after a traffic stop they made at 7:18 a.m. July 1 at mile marker 68.6 in Washington Township.

They said Moises Trochez, 27, was stopped in a 2012 Acura for a tinted window violation, when police learned there was an arrest warrant out for him for a sexual assault charge through the Rhode Island Bureau of Criminal Investigations.

Trochez was transported to the Lehigh County Correctional Facility, Allentown, where he was arraigned and is awaiting extradition.

• Anyely Y. Almanzar Peralta, 19, of the Bronx, New York, was cited for failure to drive at a safe speed after a one-vehicle crash at 8:34 p.m. July 2 at mile marker 94.9 in Kidder Township.

Police said she was driving a 2022 Toyota Highlander southbound and was changing lanes when she lost control of the vehicle. It traveled off the roadway and struck an embankment, causing it to spin counterclockwise with the front of the vehicle facing the roadway.

Neither the driver nor a passenger were injured in the crash.

• Samara Z. Weathersby, 18, of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, escaped injuries in a crash at 9:28 p.m. July 2 at mile marker 71.6 in East Penn Township.

Police said she was driving a 2005 Chrysler 300 northbound and had exited the Lehigh Tunnel when she lost control of the vehicle on the wet roadway. The car lost control on a left turn and struck the guard rail.

Weathersby was cited for the crash.

• William K. Gribble III, 41, of Lansford, was cited for careless driving after a crash at 12:20 a.m. July 3 at mile marker 64.5 in North Whitehall Township.

Police said he was driving a 2014 Honda CRV northbound when it “rear-ended” a 2015 Kia Sorento driven by Todd K. Sheckler, 53, of Jim Thorpe.

Police said Sheckler sustained a possible neck injury and was transported by personnel from the Cetronia Ambulance to the Lehigh Valley Hospital, Salisbury Township.

Police said both vehicles were towed from the scene.