GREGG TOWNSHIP - A 21-year-old Lewisburg man was killed early Sunday morning in a one-vehicle crash involving a sign and utility pole along Route 15 near Clyde Peeling's Reptile Land in this Union County township.
State police at Milton reported Jacob Parkes, who was not wearing a seat belt, died as a result of injuries suffered in the 2:38 a.m. accident. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:10 a.m. by Union County Coroner Wanda Walters.
Parkes' passenger, Andrew Renner, 22, of Winfield, who was wearing a seat belt, suffered moderate injuries in the accident and was transported by ambulance to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, where he was listed in serious condition, according to a nursing supervisor.
Police said Parkes was driving a 2011 Jeep Wrangler south on Route 15 when his vehicle exited the right side of the road after Parkes failed to negotiate a left curve. Police said the Jeep Wrangler then ascended an embankment and traveled south before sideswiping a warning signal attached to a metal pole. The vehicle traveled approximately 200 feet along the embankment before its front driver's side struck a utility pole, causing the Jeep Wrangler to roll over and come to rest on its passenger side on the west berm.
Police said the utility pole was knocked down in the southbound lane, prompting PPL employees to respond to the scene and replace the pole.
The highway was closed until about noon Sunday.
The Jeep Wrangler sustained extensive damage and was towed from the scene.