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HANOVER TWP. — A 9-year-old girl was flown to a trauma center and three others were taken to hospitals by ambulance after a two-car, head-on collision on the Sans Souci Parkway in front of Hanover Area Junior/Senior High School this afternoon.

Township police detective David Lewis said the 9-year-old girl was a passenger in red Chevrolet Cobalt, being driven by a woman, along with another child and a dog.

A firefighter was seen removing one child in a child safety seat from the back seat of the Cobalt.

Lewis said the Cobalt collided with a red Cadillac with one occupant.

He said the 9-year-old was flown to a Geisinger hospital, but he did not know which one. Neither did he know the conditions of any of the accident victims or to which hospitals the victims were taken when interviewed at the scene of the crash.

Patricia Ropietski, of Hanover Township, said her brother, Gary Weaver, was driving the Cadillac. She believes he was driving south on the parkway, headed to his Hunlock Creek home. She arrived at the scene after her brother was already taken away by ambulance.

Lewis said one of the cars apparently crossed into the lane of the other, but he did not know which one or for what reason. He said police would issue a news release with more information later today.

A state police accident reconstruction expert arrived at the scene just before 5 p.m.

The crash was reported shortly before 4 p.m., according to a Luzerne County 911 supervisor. A Life Flight helicopter landed on the front lawn of the high school at about 4:23 p.m. The 9-year-old girl was transferred from an ambulance to the helicopter, which departed for the hospital at 4:34 p.m.

Traffic was closed in both directions at Alta Road, just north of the crash scene, and at a point several hundred yards south of the crash scene.

Barbara Morgan, who lives a half-block away on Water Street, said the parkway can be dangerous.

“It’s bad because some (drivers traveling south toward Nanticoke) come down and get in the left lane. They think it’s a passing lane,” but it’s really a turning lane and marked as such, Morgan, 70, said.

Less than a year ago, the Times Leader reported when township police were focusing their attention on the roadway and connector roads during an aggressive-driving enforcement campaign.

“That roadway has been identified as one of two roadways where a lot of aggressive driving behavior has resulted in reportable auto accidents,” township police Chief Al Walker had said at the time.

There have been 228 reportable accidents on the stretch of roadway — seven of them fatal, with eight people losing their lives — between 2008 and 2013, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

Check back later at timesleader.com for more information.

A firefighter rescues a young child in a car seat after a two-car head-on crash on the Sans Souci Parkway in Hanover Township on Wednesday afternoon.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_TTL102215wreck.jpg.optimal.jpgA firefighter rescues a young child in a car seat after a two-car head-on crash on the Sans Souci Parkway in Hanover Township on Wednesday afternoon. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader

A medic carries an injured dog after a two-car head-on crash on the Sans Souci Parkway in front of Hanover Area Junior/Senior High School on Wednesday.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_TTL102215wreck3.jpg.optimal.jpgA medic carries an injured dog after a two-car head-on crash on the Sans Souci Parkway in front of Hanover Area Junior/Senior High School on Wednesday. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader

Emergency responders work to rescue accident victims after a two-car head-on crash on the Sans Souci Parkway in Hanover Township on Wednesday.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_TTL102215wreck1.jpg.optimal.jpgEmergency responders work to rescue accident victims after a two-car head-on crash on the Sans Souci Parkway in Hanover Township on Wednesday. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader

A 9-year-old girl is transferred to a Life Flight helicopter for transport to a trauma center after an two-car head-on crash on the Sans Souci Parkway in Hanover Township on Wednesday.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_TTL102215wreck2.jpg.optimal.jpgA 9-year-old girl is transferred to a Life Flight helicopter for transport to a trauma center after an two-car head-on crash on the Sans Souci Parkway in Hanover Township on Wednesday. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader

A man, identified by his sister as Gary Weaver, of Hunlock Creek, is transported from the scene of a head-on collision on the Sans Souci Parkway on Wednesday afternoon.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_TTL102215wreck4.jpg.optimal.jpgA man, identified by his sister as Gary Weaver, of Hunlock Creek, is transported from the scene of a head-on collision on the Sans Souci Parkway on Wednesday afternoon. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader

By Steve Mocarsky

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Reach Steve Mocarsky at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @TLSteveMocarsky.