Flemington, NJ : Cops to witnesses of Pa. cycle crash: Tell us, not Facebook on Sunday, 12th September 2016
A 53-year-old Lehighton, Pa., man was identified as the motorcyclist who died Sunday on Route 61 outside Hamburg in Berks County.
Dean D. Steigerwalt was operating a motorcycle that collided with a minivan driven by Ursula Pohl, 82, of Flemington, according to Tilden Township police.
It happened about 2:30 p.m. in the northbound lanes of Route 61 in Tilden Township, just south of the on-ramp to eastbound Interstate 78.
The area is just south of the Cabela's superstore in Berks County.
Tilden Township Police Chief William McEllroy said police are looking for people who may have witnessed the crash.
Police said their initial investigation determined Pohl was southbound on Route 61 and made a U-turn over a concrete median to get into the northbound lanes. The motorcycle was headed north, and at some point after the minivan's U-turn, the front of the bike collided with the rear of the minivan, police said.
"We're not saying that's what caused the crash," he said of the illegal turn. "It's possible that at some point after the U-turn there was some other reason the motorcycle impacted with (the van)."
He said he had seen social media postings from people who claimed to have seen what happened. Police want to hear from those people, he said.
"We're asking people instead of just posting on Facebook to contact us so we can get information," McEllroy said. "At this point, we don't know what the exact cause is or who is at fault or anything else. We're trying to determine that."
A 52-year-old female passenger on the motorcycle was seriously hurt and was being treated at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township, McEllroy said. Police have not released her name.
Local police are working with the Berks County crash reconstruction unit as part of the investigation, according to the chief.
The minivan driver wasn't hurt, McEllroy said. It's too early in the investigation to say if a citation or charges will be filed, he said.
Asked if the people on the motorcycle wore helmets, he said: "We're not releasing that at this time because we're still trying to determine some things on that."
McEllroy said the location of the crash near the interstate and the time of day makes it likely that several other motorists witnessed what happened and may be able provide helpful information to invesigators.
"We are asking anybody who witnessed it to please call the Tilden Township Police Department," he said.
Source :
Cops to witnesses of Pa. cycle crash: Tell us, not Facebook