Helicopters called to scene of severe accident in Center Township
Clarification: Officials confirm there were not three body bags at the scene. This information was removed from the article on Aug. 16, 2023.
CENTER TWP — Three helicopters were called to the scene of a vehicle accident near the intersection of Oneida Valley Road and Hoon Road on Tuesday evening.
A head-on crash of at least two vehicles near the township’s border with Oakland Township resulted in one being overturned.
State police did not immediately release details of the crash.
“We were sitting at home on the patio,” said Melissa Sub, who lives nearby. “I mean, you could hear it like it was right next door.”
She said the crash sounded like a “demolition derby,” and she and her husband saw emergency lights through the trees before driving to the scene.
“They said it was two cars and there was a rollover with entrapment,” Sub said.
First responders were initially dispatched around 6:15 p.m. for a head-on collision near the intersection, near Spillway Lane at the outlet of the Oneida Valley Reservoir. Butler County dispatchers reported a rollover and multiple entrapments.
While crews established landing zone at the intersection, the crash was visible near the bend at 820 Oneida Valley Road.
Due to the severity of the crash, fire crews deferred questions to the Pennsylvania State Police, and officers on the scene said a news release was forthcoming.
First responders included Unionville Volunteer Fire Company, Oneida Valley Volunteer Fire Department, East Butler Volunteer Fire Department, West Sunbury Volunteer Fire Department, Butler Ambulance Service, two AHN LifeFlight helicopters, a STAT MedEvac helicopter, state police and the state police forensic unit.
As of 7:45 p.m., Oneida Valley Road was closed to through traffic between Hoon Road and Hohn Farm Road while state police investigated.
“This is a bad road to begin with,” Sub said. “We don’t travel this road at all.”
