May 26--A Pottsville man was taken to Reading Hospital with unspecified injuries suffered when his car crashed nearly head-on into a state police forensic unit van on Route 183 in Penn Township late Wednesday, troopers reported this morning.
Investigators gave this account of the crash, which happened at 11:43 p.m. about three-tenths of a mile south of Old Church Road:
The driver of the northbound car, Gregory V. Stevenson, 33, drifted onto a grassy area along the northbound lane then swerved left into the southbound lane.
The driver of the southbound van, Trooper Robert Wessner of the Reading station, steered to the right to try to avoid a collision but the left front of the car struck the left front and side of the van.
Wessner was wearing a seat belt and was uninjured.
Both vehicles spun after the collision. The car ended up in the middle of the road and the van ended up on the southbound shoulder.
Firefighters from the Bernville, Mount Pleasant and Greenfields fire companies had to cut Stevenson from the car, which ended up in the middle of the road after the crash.
Stevenson, who was not wearing a seat belt, was taken by Schuylkill Valley Ambulance to the hospital. Information on his medication condition was unavailable.
Fire police diverted traffic off Route 183 for more than an hour after the crash.
An investigation is continuing.
Troopers asked anyone who saw the crash to call the Jonestown station at 717-865-2194, or the Reading station at 610-378-4011.
