[naviga:h3]2nd rabid raccoon found in Pittsburgh[/naviga:h3]

PITTSBURGH — Health officials are warning Eestern Pennsylvania residents that a second raccoon found in the same Pittsburgh neighborhood has tested positive for rabies.

The Allegheny County health department says the raccoon brought to one of its facilities Thursday was found on the edge of the Morningside/Stanton Heights areas, the same area a rabid raccoon was found earlier in the week. Another rabid raccoon was found in Mount Lebanon.

Rabies is a virus transmitted by an animal bite or scratch; exposures are almost always fatal when left untreated. Residents are being warned to avoid stray animals and wildlife, even if the animals appear healthy.

Officials say this is the 20th rabid animal reported in the county this year: there have been nine raccoons, seven bats, two cats, a groundhog and a fox.

[naviga:h3]2 die when minivan, SUV crash head-on[/naviga:h3]

DARLINGTON — State police say a head-on crash of a minivan and a sport utility vehicle killed the minivan driver and a passenger.

Police in Beaver County say the minivan turned onto Route 51 in Darlington Township shortly before 11 a.m. Sunday “without first assuring the roadway was clear.”

Police say the westbound SUV was unable to avoid the minivan and struck it head-on, killing 62-year-old Janet Feezle of Enon Valley.

Her passenger, 29-year-old Walter Nelson Reynolds of Baden, was flown to UPMC Presbyterian, where he was pronounced dead.