A violent one car accident in Harborcreek has claimed the life of a local man.
Pennsylvania State Police officers investigating the crash report that according to witnesses, just after 3:30 p.m. Saturday, a white Chevy Malibu sedan was traveling west on East Lake Road at an apparent high rate of speed, when the car left the road, traveled on the north shoulder striking a Verizon utility pole.
After that, the car continued to travel on the north shoulder, striking a tree.
The car was mangled by the force of the impact. Volunteer rescuers from Fairfield Hose Company, arriving first on the scene, indicated that the driver, now identified at 66-year-old Jeffrey Vanhorn, was trapped in the wreckage.
Rescuers worked for nearly a half hour, using mechanical means to extricate the victim from what was left of his car. Vanhorn was rushed to the hospital by ambulance crews, but did not survive. Doctors at UPMC Hamot pronounced him dead at the hospital.
According to the public information release, there was no one else in the vehicle.
Troopers list the primary violation in this deadly crash as driving at an unsafe speed. They also indicate that his safety belt was used improperly.