Route 378 in Bethlehem Reopened After Crash

A serious car accident at about 2 p.m. Sunday closed part of Route 378 in both directions in Bethlehem.

Part of Route 378 in Bethlehem was closed in both directions following a serious car accident that occurred Sunday afternoon shortly after 2 p.m. According to the Bethlehem Police Department blog, the "major" crash happened on Route 378 north of Eighth Avenue and an investigation into it is ongoing. Police said two people with injuries were transported from the crash scene to area hospitals. The crash occurred between the Eighth Avenue exit and the 14th Avenue overpass. Traffic was detoured and the highway was closed north of Eighth Avenue while the vehicle involved in the accident was removed and debris was cleared. Authorities estimated that the highway would reopen between 4:15 and 4:30 p.m., according to the Bethlehem Police Department…

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Crime News

Cocaine Found in Wrecked Car Leads to Charges

Wallet found in car that hit house on Linden Street contained cocaine, Bethlehem police say.

  A police investigation of a Mercedes C300 hitting a Bethlehem house in September has led to drug charges against a city man. Police say they found identification in the car that led them to the suspect, Louis Rogan, 21, of 1766 W. Broad St. Court records do not say if Rogan was driving the 2009 dark-blue car when it hit a house at 2313 Linden St. early on Sept. 22, a Saturday. But the records say officers found a learner’s permit belonging to Rogan inside a wallet, where they also found a plastic bag of cocaine “tucked in the corner of one of the wallet’s pockets.” Officer Lawrence Meo III writes in a criminal complaint that in early October he spoke by telephone to a male identifying himself as Rogan, who said he could meet up with the …

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Jets Coach Rex Ryan Smashes Red Mustang in Bethlehem

New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan 'denied that he was speeding but did not deny causing the accident' at Third and Wyandotte streets in South Bethlehem.

  New York Jets head football coach Rex Ryan told Bethlehem police he was trying “to beat the light” when he apparently caused a minor three-car crash in south Bethlehem during the evening rush hour eight days ago, Bethlehem Police said. The accident occurred at the intersection of Wyandotte and W. Third streets, just south of the Hill-to-Hill Bridge on Jan. 14 at 6:13 p.m. One eyewitness and the driver of one of the other two cars in the crash told police they saw a 2013 red Ford Mustang, which Ryan was driving, go through a red light as it traveled west along W. Third Street, police said. Though police said the investigation into the accident is not complete, the partially redacted accident report city officials released Tuesday said …

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$124 Fine and 3 Points for Double-Fatal Wreck

Guilty of two summary driving offenses in Sept. 5 collision that killed an elderly Bethlehem woman and her son, Lester Smith's punishment is a $124 fine and 3 points on his license.

  The lone survivor in a September double-fatal crash that killed an 88-year-old Bethlehem woman and her 67-year-old son pleaded guilty to two summary driving offenses, according to court records. Lester Smith, 51, of Bath was charged Nov. 9 in the head-on collision on Hanoverville Road that killed Gertrude and Clifford Babin Jr. Colonial Regional Police Chief Roy Seiple said a dog traveling with Smith also died. The summary charges, filed by Sgt. John Harmon with Colonial Regional Police, included careless driving and disregarding a traffic lane, court records say. According to a report in The Express Times, Smith had to pay $124 in fines and costs and will receive three points on his license. The Northampton County coroner was called to …

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Carmen

8:53 pm on Tuesday, January 22, 2013

wow please explain this to me too-how does he get away with just a slap on the wrist   more ›

Crime News

Police: Woman Fled Car Wreck with Injured Baby

Hellertown police say unlicensed driver in 2-car accident did not properly restrain infant, had marijuana in her uninsured car and left the scene and hid before authorities could arrive.

  A South Bethlehem woman who police say failed to properly restrain her infant son in a car seat allegedly fled the scene of an accident on Front Street, Hellertown, Friday afternoon, attempting to hide along a nearby rail-to-trail path, according to court papers. Quiana Melia Lopez, 20, of 503 W. Fourth St., is facing multiple charges in the incident, including possession of a small amount of marijuana. Hellertown police, while searching Lopez’s abandoned car, found a burned marijuana cigarette on the driver’s side floor, a small plastic baggie of marijuana in the driver’s side door and other drug paraphernalia, according to the arrest affidavit. Court papers also said: Lopez was charged with endangering the welfare of children, …

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Grateful for his Legs, Teen Crash Survivor Rewires Fire Station

Kyle Cope was part of the crew that replaced lighting fixtures at Lower Macungie Fire Department's Wescosville station, Macungie Ambulance and Faust Towing after firefighters, ambulance crew and a tow truck operator saved his legs.

  Township Commissioners meetings are not usually the forum for tears or standing ovations, but at Lower Macungie's Oct. 4 meeting there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Lower Macungie Fire Chief David Nosal approached the commissioners with an incredible story of bravery that ended with a surprising twist of integrity and gratitude. Around midnight on Feb. 27, 2012, the Lower Macungie Fire Department and Macungie Ambulance were called to the scene of an accident at Lower Macungie and Brookside roads. Seventeen-year-old Kyle Cope of Upper Milford Township lost control of his car and hit a traffic pole. The car hugged the pole in the same way a potholder wraps around the handle of a pot. Nosal passed around three photos of the scene, the kind …

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Five Injured When Car Plows Into Dunkin Donuts

Elderly driver hit accelerator as she pulled into donut shop parking spot, according to eyewitnesses.

  Five people have been hospitalized after a car crashed through the front entrance of the Dunkin Donuts at 1910 Stefko Boulevard early this afternoon, according to The Express Times. Witnesses told the newspaper that an elderly woman who is a store regular was pulling into a parking space when she suddenly accelerated and rammed into the front of the store. The condition and names of the driver and the injured were not immediately available. A call to Bethlehem Police Capt. David Kravatz, who supervises the department’s traffic bureau, was not immediately returned. Store officials on scene refused to comment other than to say that the store is currently closed for business.

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Pickup Jumps SouthSide Curb, Buildings Damaged

One person injured as truck goes up Third Street sidewalk at Adams Street.

A Lower Saucon Township man was reaching for his cell phone when he lost control of his pickup truck, jumped the curb on E. Third Street near Adams Street and caused mayhem, property damage and injuries to one man, according to this Express-Times report. Richard Degnan, 30, was identified as the driver by Bethlehem police, which are still investigating the accident, which occurred at 8:10 a.m. Charges will likely be filed, according to Capt. David Kravatz. Degnan’s truck reportedly knocked down a light pole and sent a metal garbage can flying, striking John Saraceno, owner of nearby Saraceno Design, who suffered cuts and bruises. The careening truck took a gash out of Home & Planet, a gift shop, and caused less severe damage to other …

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Coroner: Drive Off Sands Casino Parking Deck was a Suicide

Robert Jamison, 21, of Lower Macungie, plunged seven-stories to his death in his car.

Updated 4:35 p.m. The death of a man who drove his car off of the seventh floor of the Sands Bethlehem Casino parking deck has been ruled a suicide, according to the Lehigh County Coroner's Office. The dead man has been identified as Robert Jamison, 21, of Lower Macungie Township. According to his Facebook page, he was a 2007 graduate of Emmaus Area High School. Security officials at the Sands would not allow a reporter near the scene of the accident and said a news release would be issued later. Casino security also had First Street blocked off behind the casino and the parking deck. City police and firefighters also responded to the scene. So far there has been no release from police or the casino on the incident. According to the …

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