1 dead, 17 injured in accident at Berwick, PA toxicology unit

BERWICK, Pa. – One person was killed and 17 others were injured when a car plowed into a crowd gathered at a Pennsylvania bar for a fundraiser for victims of a house fire that killed 10 people earlier this month; a man who police said was the driver was later arrested for killing a woman nearby.

The crash happened around 6:15 p.m. Saturday outside the bar of the toxicology department in Berwick, where an all-day fundraiser was planned for the victims of the Aug. 5 fire that killed seven adults and three children in Nescopeck.

Pennsylvania State Police identified the driver as Adrian Oswald Sur Reyes, 24, of Nescopeck. He was arraigned early Sunday morning on two counts of criminal homicide.

Shortly after the accident was reported, police received a call that a man was “physically assaulting” a woman less than a mile away in Nescopeck. The police arrived and found that Sura Reyes had been arrested by the local police and the woman had died. Her identity and that of the person who died in the accident were not immediately released.

Geisinger Medical Center reported receiving 15 patients after the crash, with five remaining in critical condition and three in stable condition, a hospital spokesman said Sunday morning. Seven patients were treated in hospitals and discharged.

Airman Anthony Petraski III told reporters at a press conference in the north that Sura Reyes is not currently a suspect in the fire, the cause of which remains under investigation. He declined to comment on the suspect’s relationship to Neskopek’s victim or the motive for the crime.

RELATED: Funerals begin for victims of Pennsylvania wildfire that killed 10

“This is a complete tragedy in a community that has already had tragedy,” Petrosky said. “We will do everything in our power to conduct a thorough investigation, not only for the families, but also for members of the community. They already hurt.”

Suri Reyes was denied bail and remains in the D.C. Jail pending a preliminary hearing on Aug. 29. Wilkes-Barre newspapers reported that he only said “I’m sorry” in response to reporters’ questions as he was taken from the Shikshini police station. It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney available to comment on his behalf.

The first funerals of the victims of the fire took place on Friday, and new ones are planned for Sunday and Monday.

Barr called the events an “absolute tragedy” and said on his Facebook page that they would be closed until further notice and would like privacy “while we grieve, try to process the events that have occurred.”