Victim of Lancaster Twp fatal crash identified
Lancaster Township police have identified Richard Kromer, 74, of DuBois, as the driver who died in a tractor-trailer crash around 3:30 p.m. Sunday on Yellow Creek Road.
Mike Cornell, a sergeant with the Lancaster Township Police Department, said Kromer was driving the Smith Trucking tractor-trailer hauling a full load of around 500 gallons of diesel fuel southbound when the vehicle started to drift out of the lane. Cornell said it appears Kromer overcompensated trying to get the vehicle back on the road which caused his truck to flip into at least one barrel roll before coming to a stop against a tree.
Kromer was pronounced dead on the scene. Butler County Deputy Coroner John Hanovick said Kromer’s autopsy is not complete, because his office is waiting on a toxicology report.
Cornell said Yellow Creek Road was closed Sunday so the Butler County Hazmat Team could clean fuel leaking from the truck. It was not reopened until 10:30 a.m. Monday, after a tow truck retrieved the vehicle from the scene at around 7 a.m.
“It took a long period of time for the hazmat team to clear the 500 gallons,” Cornell said.
Harmony, Prospect and Portersville Muddy Creek Township firefighters, as well as Harmony and Portersville Muddy Creek EMS responded to the scene as well.
