ELYSBURG - A motorcyclist was killed Wednesday afternoon in a collision with a school van on Route 54 just outside of Elysburg.
Paramedics were working to resuscitate the male as he lay in the westbound passing lane between Sleepy Hollow and High roads. A white sheet was laid atop his body about 3:40 p.m. indicating his death.
The victim's identity was being withheld by Ralpho Township police until his kin could be notified. James F. Kelley, Northumberland County coroner, said the victim is believed to be a 60-year-old man from Danville.
The crash was first reported at 3:10 p.m. and occurred near a bend in the highway at the crest of a hill to the north of the Ralpho Township village.
Police said the motorcyclist was driving east and crossed the double-yellow line before striking a Dodge Grand Caravan driven by Erin Bowman, of Muncy. The van was traveling in the passing lane.
Bowman was treated on scene by ambulance personnel and then transported to Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, from which she was treated and released, according to a hospital nursing supervisor.
A 17-year-old female passenger was not injured, police said. She was later transported from the scene by an employee of the van's owner, Murry Transportation Inc., Turbotville.
The van was reportedly traveling from Mount Carmel Area Junior-Senior High School to the northern end of the county.
The motorcycle, identified by Kelley as a Kawasaki Ninja, impacted the minivan's driver-side bumper and was stuck beneath the vehicle after the two came to rest on the berm of the westbound lane. Heavy debris from both vehicles was scattered about the highway.
Barbara Swank, of Shamokin, was driving east and came upon the scene moments after the accident occurred. She did not witness the crash but was visibly shaken nonetheless.
"I'm crying because his family isn't here with him," she said, seated behind the wheel of her vehicle as police officers investigated the crash just steps away. She was on a cell phone with her daughter in an attempt to calm her nerves.
Susan and Roger Woodruff live along Route 54 near the site of the crash. Roger Woodruff was working at his shed and heard the collision. His wife was indoors and wasn't aware of it. When she learned of the crash, she called police.
Both walked to the scene to see what they could do to help.
Susan Woodruff said motorcycle accidents in that area aren't a rarity.
"That's the third one in the last two years," she said while standing roadside, holding a pair of unlit emergency road flares. "Right here. Right in this very spot."
Traffic was restricted in both directions, with westbound motorists directed onto Snydertown Road and eastbound motorists onto Bowden Road.
The scene was cleared at 5:20 p.m. and the normal flow of traffic resumed.
Responding to the scene, in addition to police, were members of Elysburg Fire and Ambulance Company, Overlook Fire Company, AREA Services ambulance and the county coroner's office.
A police investigation into the crash continues.