2 separate accidents occur within minutes
CLINTON TWP — Two vehicle accidents occurred within minutes of each other Tuesday night on Saxonburg Boulevard about a half-mile from the Saxon Country Market.
The first accident occurred about 8:10 p.m. A man driving a white Pontiac Vibe was heading west when his car went into the embankment and rolled onto its driver’s side.
The man said he was not injured, but declined to comment further or give his name. He got out of the vehicle by himself before emergency responders arrived.
The second accident happened briefly after the first crash, before emergency responders arrived.
Several cars heading east on Saxonburg Boulevard stopped because of the accident. The cars were stopped slanted down on a hill.
Al Governor, 69, of Butler, said he was driving his 2005 Dodge 1500 pickup truck up over the hill and was going 45 mph when he saw the cars parked.
“There was no warning,” he said.
Governor said there were cars on the left side of the road so he couldn’t swerve that way. So he went to the right as much as he could.
The Dodge collided with the car of Zach Reges, 23, of Herman. Reges’ car was stopped because of the first accident.
Reges was able to avoid the parked cars in front of him, and drove his car down the road until he was able to safely pull off the road. His car had severe rear-end damage, but he was not injured.
After hitting Reges’ car, the Dodge then hit a Chevrolet Tahoe, which also was stopped on the hill because of the accident.
The Dodge went off the road and stopped against the right side of the Tahoe.
The Tahoe’s driver, Rich Bartek, 50, of Saxonburg, had gotten out to see if the man from the first accident needed help.
His twin 16-year-old boys were in the Tahoe, but were not injured. The Tahoe had damage to its right side.
The Dodge had serious front and window damage. Governor was not injured.
“I’m just thankful nobody got hurt, especially my boys,” Bartek said.
All four vehicles needed to be towed. The road was closed for about an hour.
The Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Department, Saxonburg EMS and state police responded to the accidents.
