Head-on collision kills 2
SUMMIT TWP — Two men were killed Thursday after the vehicles they were driving collided on Route 68 near Linwood Drive.
State police identified the men as Jacob Bowser, 19, of East Brady, and James Hipple, 50, of Sligo, Pa.
Both men died Thursday, according to Butler County Deputy Coroner Larry Barr, despite furious efforts by good Samaritans and emergency responders called to the scene.
Passers-by stopped to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Hipple, who was wedged under the dashboard of his Dodge Ram pickup following the head-on crash just after 2 p.m. in Summit Township, neighbors said.
Volunteer firefighters worked feverishly to rescue Bowser, who was trapped in the wreckage of his Chevrolet Impala.
Police in a news release Thursday night said the crash occurred as Bowser was driving west on Route 68, when his vehicle “for unknown reasons ... crossed entirely into the eastbound lane of travel.”
After crossing into oncoming traffic, Bowser's vehicle collided head-on with Hipple's truck, leaving both vehicles with heavy front-end damage.
Police said Hipple was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, while Bowser was.
Neighbors said they didn't see the crash that happened between Sullivan Road and Linwood Drive, but they heard it.
“It was like a big smash, crash,” said Chris Matthews, who lives just down the road.
Only two houses away, Rhiannon Deal was doing the dishes.
“It sounded just like a bang,” she said, “like someone hit a pole.”
Her mother-in-law checked and told Deal it was a crash. Deal hustled outside and went to inspect.
“The guy (in the pickup) wasn't breathing and he was half way under the dash,” she said. “There were two people doing CPR.”
Deal moved closer to the car and saw the driver was breathing heavily.
“I tried talking to him,” she said, “but he was completely unresponsive.”
Hipple was taken away first by East Butler Ambulance. Police said he was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
It took some time before rescuers were able to pull Bowser out of his car.
“We popped the door and cut the dash,” said Tim Gold, chief of the Lick Hill Volunteer Fire Department.
State police said Bowser was flown from the scene to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh, where he was pronounced dead.
Butler County Coroner William Young III did not return a message left Thursday night seeking information about the fatalities.
