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Passenger dies in 1-vehicle crash Sunday

LANCASTER TWP — State police suspect alcohol was a factor in a one-vehicle Sunday afternoon crash on Route 19 that killed a passenger and seriously injured the driver of a pickup truck.

Daniel Watson, 44, of Harmony was pronounced dead at the scene of the rollover wreck in the 500 block of Route 19 in Lancaster Township.

Alan J. Moser, 56, of Harmony, who was driving the Ford pickup, was flown by medical helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital. His condition was not known this morning.

Authorities said Moser was northbound about 4:10 p.m. when he lost control of his pickup on a slight curve.

The pickup hit an embankment. Chief Neal Nanna of the Harmony Volunteer Fire Company said the truck also hit a retaining wall before rolling over several times

“It was lucky there were no other vehicles on the road at the time, especially since it was a (Labor Day) holiday weekend,” Nanna said. “It could have been much worse.”

Watson was dead by the time rescue crews got there. Moser was trapped in the vehicle. Firefighters had to cut off the roof and the driver’s side door to get him out.

Investigators said Moser smelled of alcohol.

“There’s a strong suspicion alcohol was involved (in the crash),” said police Lt. Eric Hermick.

The Portersville Muddy Creek Township Volunteer Fire Department was called to assist with traffic and to help Harmony firefighters land the medical helicopter on Route 19. It flew Moser to UPMC Presbyterian hospital.

A police accident reconstruction team investigated the wreck that closed the road for about seven hours.

Hermick said Moser could face criminal and traffic charges, pending the police investigation.

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