Township man
suffers bad burns
An Old Lycoming Township man suffered serious burns Thanksgiving Day as he attempted to stomp out a field fire at his Bottle Run Road property, according to township fire officials.
"He suffered third-degree burns to his legs as well as burns to his hands and chest," one fire official said Tuesday of the victim, whose identity was not available.
Firefighters from several companies responded to the 3100 block of Bottle Run to put out the fire about 3:15 p.m. Thursday. It involved an area that was about 300 by 300 yards, officials said.
When firefighters first arrived, the burned property owner, already inside his home getting treatment for his injuries, was at first unaware that anyone was hurt.
The victim was taken by ambulance to the Williamsport Regional Medical Center. It was unknown if he was moved to a burn unit and no information was available Tuesday about his medical condition.
The cause of the fire was undetermined.
Local woman still
serious after crash
A Loyalsock Township woman remained hospitalized Tuesday night with injuries she suffered last week when her pickup truck crashed head-on into a tree at Franklin Street and Jerome Avenue, according to city police.
Wendy R. Woodring, 53, of 238 Willow Brook Road, was reported in serious condition in Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, a nursing supervisor said.
Police said Woodring was traveling north on Franklin Street when her truck first sideswiped a parked pickup truck and then hit a tree about 9 p.m. Friday. She was trapped in the truck for at least 20 minutes.
13 charged during task force stops
The Lycoming County DUI Task Force charged 13 motorists with driving under the influence of intoxicants between Wednesday and Sunday night, according to William Solomon, task force coordinator.
The task force conducted "roving patrols" throughout the county during the five-day period, Solomon said. A total of 63 drivers were stopped and 18 were given field sobriety tests.
In addition to the DUI arrests, numerous citations and warnings were issued for various minor traffic or vehicle-code infractions, Solomon said,
"Slow down and drive responsibly and drive sober. Make it a safe holiday season for everyone," Solomon said.
Random local DUI enforcement will continue through the New Year holiday, he said.
Woman charged with assault
TROUT RUN - Upset that her husband would not dance with her at a bar, Becky Djuana Tingen slammed the door on the man when the couple arrived home about 10 p.m. on Nov. 15, state police said.
When the door slammed shut, the man's left arm broke a window pane, causing an 8-inch gash on the arm, police said. An ambulance was dispatched to the couple's home at 2654 Green Mountain Road in Cogan House Township. The victim, Craig Robbins, was taken to the Williamsport Regional Medical Center and later released, police said.
Tingen, 48, has been charged with simple assault and harassment, and was arraigned last week before District Judge James H. Sortman. Initially committed to the Lycoming County Prison, she since has been released on $5,000 bail.
Jordan Township man faces charges
UNITYVILLE - Charges have been lodged against Eugene Monroe Burkhart after the 48-year-old man allegedly fired a shotgun several times in the air during disturbance at his home on Sheets Hill Road in Jordan Township about 11:30 p.m. Sunday, according to state Trooper Adam Kirk.
When a brother came to the house to try to calm him down, Burkhart fired another shot in the air, ordered the relative off the property and allegedly threatened to shoot him, Kirk said.
During the disturbance, Burkhart also struck his wife, Nedra, in the head, Kirk alleged in an affidavit.
Following his arraignment Tuesday before District Judge James Carn on charges of terroristic threats, simple assault and harassment, Burkhart was committed to the Lycoming County Prison in lieu of $15,000 bail.
Trooper's act of concern leads to another's arrest
TROUT RUN - A state trooper stopping to help a man who was sick to his stomach along side the road ended up charging a second man with driving under the influence of intoxicants, according to court records filed at the office of District Judge James H. Sortman.
Thomas Andrew Bailey, 23, of 439 Hemlock Lane, was sitting in the driver's seat of a Cadillac that was parked on the berm of Route 15 in Lewis Township when Trooper Justin Bieber, on routine patrol, pulled over about 1 a.m. on Oct. 4, police said.
Bieber stopped because he saw a second man next to the car "on his hands and knees vomiting" along side the road, police said. The ill man rejected Bieber's offer for medical assistance, police said.
Bieber then directed his attention to the car's driver, police said, adding that the vehicle's engine was running.
"I noticed a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on him. He had bloodshot eyes and his speech was slurred," Bieber said of Bailey. The trooper did not say if the ill man had in fact been a passenger in the vehicle.
The driver failed a series of field sobriety tests and was taken to the county's DUI center. Test results revealed that his blood-alcohol content level was 0.14, Bieber said.
Charged with driving under the influence of intoxicants, Bailey has been sent a summons to appear before Sortman.
