Car hits 2, killing man

Car hits 2, killing man
MERCER, Pa. -- One man was killed and another injured when they were struck by a car while standing near a disabled tractor-trailer on Interstate 80 in East Lackawannock Township.
State police said William L. Keimel, 61, of Rockaway, N.J., the driver of the truck, and Malcum W. Church of Victoria, Australia, were hit around 2 p.m. by a car driven by Frank S. Deronja, 70, of Springfield, Va. Keimel was pronounced dead at United Community Hospital in Grove City of multiple trauma. Church was taken to United Community then transferred to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. A report on his condition was unavailable this morning. Police didn't explain Church's presence at the accident scene.
Deronja was not seriously injured and didn't require hospital treatment, police said. Keimel's rig was disabled and sitting along the north berm of I-80 facing west. He and Church were standing near the trailer when Deronja's car, also westbound, veered off the road, struck the rig's trailer and then hit Keimel and Church, police said. Deronja's vehicle then rolled onto its roof.
Buying equipment
LEETONIA -- The village council approved a request from Fire Chief Ken Garlough to use money from the fire department capital improvement fund to buy new equipment.
Mayor Artie Altomare said the department will purchase a thermal imaging camera for about $8,700 and new Jaws of Life equipment for about $8,000. Altomare said the thermal imaging camera will be a new tool for the department. He said the camera records heat given off by people, animals and objects. Firefighters can use the camera to locate victims and one another in the dark, or in smoke-filled rooms, he said. Altomare said firefighters use the Jaws of Life to move and cut metal when victims are trapped, usually in vehicles. The Jaws of Life the department has is worn and doesn't work as quickly as it should, Altomare said.
Thefts from vehicles
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Police are warning Neshannock Township and New Castle residents to lock their cars after a rash of thefts from parked vehicles. Neshannock police said 22 thefts were reported overnight from Saturday to Sunday in different locations.
Only small, easy-to-carry items were taken, they said. Township police said they are working with New Castle police because a rash of similar thefts occurred in that area. Neshannock police said they plan to question a juvenile arrested by city police Sunday suspected in thefts from cars in the Fairfield Avenue area.
Gas station robbed
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Police are searching for the man who held up the Marathon Oil Gas Station on Highland Avenue at about midnight Wednesday. They said a black man dressed in camouflage pants and a black jacket and carrying a silver handgun escaped with about $200.
Teen critical after crash
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Zachery J. Cameron, 17, of Mercer was in critical condition this morning in UPMC Hospital, Pittsburgh, with injuries suffered in a two-vehicle crash on Pa. Route 965 in Worth Township, Mercer County.
Police said Cameron was westbound around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday when he failed to negotiate a curve and his vehicle crossed the center line. His pickup collided with a truck driven by Richard Whitcomb Jr. of Utica, Pa. Whitcomb was treated at UPMC Northwest Medical Center in Franklin.
Fire at vacant house
FARRELL, Pa. -- Fire of suspicious origin did extensive damage to a vacant house at 609 Bond St. Fire Chief Joseph Santell said his department got the call around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. The fire started in a second-floor bedroom and burned up the walls into the attic and through a portion of the roof. The house was recently vacated and the name of the owner wasn't known this morning, Santell said. Hermitage firefighters assisted.
Police arrest 5 teens
SHARON, Pa. -- Police arrested five teenagers after a series of fights that broke out at a dance at Freddie Fresh's, a club for teens at 160 W. State St. Police were called to the scene around 10 p.m. Thursday after reports of fights outside the club on the sidewalk and in the street. Officers ordered the club to be closed for the night, angering the crowd of between 100 and 150 people who shouted and swore at police and began banging on street signs in the area.
Sharon police called in units from Southwest Regional and Hermitage police departments as backup and began to disperse the crowd. They arrested four girls and one boy ranging in ages from 13 to 17 on charges of riot, failure to disperse and disorderly conduct. All were released to relatives, police said. One girl is from Farrell. The other teens are from Sharon, police said.