Violent crash leaves 2 dead
BUTLER TWP — An elderly man ran a stop sign, leaving two dead in a Tuesday morning collision that sent both vehicles plunging down an embankment and into a creek, police said.
Killed were Thomas P. Shaffer, 85, of Ellwood City, Lawrence County, and Glenn S. Davis Jr., 66, of Harrisville.
Butler Township police said Shaffer just before 7:30 a.m. was traveling east on Greenwood Drive and failed to stop at a sign at South Benbrook Road.
Shaffer's 2006 Chrysler van struck a 2004 GMC pickup truck driven by Davis that was headed south on South Benbrook Road, according to a police report.
Another motorist who was traveling behind the van told investigators that Shaffer did not stop at the sign, police said.
The collision forced both vehicles into and through a guardrail, down a steep embankment and into a shallow creek.
Butler County Deputy Coroner Larry Barr pronounced Shaffer dead at the scene about 8:10 a.m.
Davis, who was thrown out of his truck, according to witnesses, was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. Authorities said it appeared he had internal injuries.
The only autopsy planned Tuesday evening was on Shaffer's body.
Police Detective Sgt. David Fish said that decision was made because investigators want to know if Shaffer suffered any medical condition before the crash.
Butch Hutcheson, who lives at the last house on Greenwood Drive before the intersection, was eating breakfast with his wife at the kitchen table when they heard the crash.
“It just sounded like a freight train hitting guardrails,” Hutcheson said.
From the sound of it, the couple knew it was bad.
“We've been here five years and there have been accidents at that intersection before,” he said, “but this is definitely the worse one we've seen.”
Hutcheson said he walked down to the scene and noticed three or four other people, who he believed were motorists who stopped to help.
One of them went down the embankment and was trying to assist Davis.The unidentified good Samaritan was “holding (Davis') head above the water,” Hutcheson said.He described seeing Davis under the truck near one of the rear wheels.It wasn't until he took a better look that he saw the other vehicle that was obscured by underbrush.A short time later, a dog — either an Irish setter or golden retriever — emerged from the area of the wreckage.“It came up through the creek right up to my wife (at the house),” Hutcheson said. “It sat here. It was well-mannered.”Police said the dog belonged to Davis and was riding in the truck.Hutcheson informed police, who notified the township's dog officer, Eugene Henry.“I took it to the (Butler County) Humane Society,” Henry said.The dog, who appeared to be 4 or 5 years old, was wearing a collar and the name tag “Morgan.”Henry did not try to track down the owner, who he thought may have been involved in the wreck or was a relative of one of the drivers and was unaware of what just happened.The guardrail that wraps around one side of the intersection was broken away and a portion of it was stretched down the embankment and across the creek.The pickup was on its driver's side. The debris field on the Greenwood Drive side included a big chunk of a bumper that looked like it belonged to the truck.A bottle of men's cologne was also laying on the side of the road nearby.The van, which was well camouflaged by the brush, weeds and tall grass, was on its wheels.Firefighters used an extension ladder to help the deputy coroner climb down the precipitous embankment to reach Shaffer, who was lying across the driver's seat.A short time later, fire crews and police used the ladder to pull Shaffer back up the embankment in a Stokes basket.
