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1 dead in crash

MONTGOMERY — A woman was killed early Thursday morning in a violent two-vehicle rear-end collision on Route 405, near the upper end of Saegers Station Road, in Clinton Township, according to Lycoming County Coroner Charles E. Kiessling Jr.

The victim, Patricia Shultz, 49, of Muncy, who was driving a Subaru Forester, was “traveling east on Route 405, just east of Childs Lane, when her car was struck from behind by a Dodge Journey about 12:20 a.m.,” Kiessling said.

Both vehicles traveled off road and overturned in a field, Kiessling said.

When Clinton Township fire Lt. Joseph Winters arrived on the scene, he determined one of the drivers was trapped in one of the vehicles.

Winters also heard the sound of “something venting,” and quickly determined that one of the vehicles “struck and came to rest” on a 2-inch UGI gas main, according to fire officials.

With the assistance of the Muncy Area Volunteer Fire Co, the road was immediately closed as firefighters immediately “deployed” hoses in the event the escaping gas might spark a fire.

“A gas pipeline was struck, which required UGI to shut off the gas to the area prior to contact with the deceased and extrication following the crash,” Kiessling said.

Shultz was on her way home from work and was less than a mile from her house when the crash occurred, the coroner said he was told.

During the crash, the Forester struck a post that went through a passenger window, Kiessling said.

Kiessling, who responded to the crash, said the woman was pronounced dead at the scene of upper body injuries.

“The final cause and manner of death are pending completion of an autopsy and crash investigation,” Kiessling said adding that an autopsy was scheduled for this morning at the Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown.

State police are investigating the crash, but no news release had yet been issued as of Thursday night. The identity of the second driver was being withheld.

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