LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — Editor's note: The above video is from March 30.
The Lancaster County District Attorney's Office announced on Thursday that two investigations into fatal crashes near the intersection of Lancaster Road (Route 72) and Lititz Road in East Hempfield Township have recently concluded.
The first incident occurred on Feb. 9, when a juvenile passenger of a Ford Taurus was killed after being struck by a tractor trailer around 6:15 p.m., according to previous FOX43 reporting.
The investigation revealed that the tractor trailer traveling southbound on Lancaster Road was moving slower than the posted speed limit, and the operator of the Ford Taurus attempted to cross the intersection when the truck was approximately 80 feet away. Police determined that this was too close for the truck operator to be able to react and avoid the collision.
As a result of the investigation, Maxwell Miller, 19, of Lititz, the operator of the Taurus, has been cited for stop sign violation, according to police.
Douglas White, 65, of Georgia, the operator of the tractor trailer, has been cited with a traffic citation for equipment violations that did not contribute to the cause of the collision, also according to the police.
An autopsy was performed on the juvenile passenger who died in the crash, and it revealed that they died of the injuries they suffered in the collision.
Both dash camera footage from the truck and a witness from the scene corroborate the findings of the police reconstruction.
The second incident, which occurred on March 29, killed a passenger of a blue Mercedes sedan, also according to previous FOX43 reporting.
While traveling east on Lititz Road, police say, the sedan entered the intersection and was struck by a tractor trailer traveling north on Lancaster Road. The truck was approximately 80 to 90 feet away, which was determined to be too close for the truck operator to react and avoid the collision, as in the Feb. 9 incident.
As a result of this investigation, Bruce Hubbs, 76, of Lancaster, the operator of the Mercedes-Benz, was also cited for a stop sign violation, according to police. The operator of the truck committed no traffic violation, police say, and was not cited.
The Lancaster County Coroner’s Office performed an autopsy on the passenger of the Mercedes sedan and determined that they also died of injuries they sustained in the crash.
And again, as in the Feb. 9 incident, dash camera footage from a witness' vehicle captured the collision and corroborated the findings of the police reconstruction.
"In both incidents, neither of the truck operator's conducts played a role in causing the collisions: the truck drivers were not distracted or speeding, and their blood contained no illegal substances or alcohol," the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office said Thursday. "The operators of the passenger vehicles in both crashes were cited with stop sign violations, their conduct was not criminal in nature. Accordingly, no criminal charges were filed."
These two incidents, however, are not the only ones that have occurred at the intersection of Lancaster Road (Route 72) and Lititz Road in East Hempfield Township.
In late March, FOX43 published a story on concerns residents had been expressing about the safety of the intersection.
Adam Pobee, one of the East Hempfield Township residents, told FOX43 at the time that the intersection made him uneasy.
"Going through both lanes of traffic—that's been a big concern," he said. "Those car haulers are hauling down 72 a lot, so that's kind of dangerous as far as pulling out here."
According to the latest crash data from PennDOT, 93 crashes occurred on Route 72 at Lititz Road between 2011 and 2020.