Area State Police Reports

A McKean County man died Sunday evening when he was run over by his tractor after being thrown off the vehicle. State police said Martin Niklas, 40, of Kane was traveling west on Forestry Road 133, off the JoJo Road in Wetmore Township, when the tractor went off the road for unknown reasons and entered a wooded area. The investigation is continuing.

An Emporium woman was taken to Charles Cole Memorial Hospital for treatment of injuries following a two-vehicle collision Sunday morning. Troopers said the mishap occurred when 77-year-old Regina Streich slowed her Ford Contour for a car ahead which was making a left turn off the road. Her vehicle was struck in the rear by a northbound Ford Escape, driven by Robert Avilez of Austin. He escaped injury, but is facing a charge of careless driving.

State police in Ridgway were called to a two-vehicle crash on Rt. 219, just south of the Toby Road intersection in Horton Township, Elk County, last Friday afternoon. Margaret Manning, 81, of Beaver, received multiple injuries when the car she was operating was struck by a truck. Police said Manning's vehicle drifted off the road, then skidded into the path of the oncoming truck. She was flown to Altoona Hospital and admitted in serious condition. The other driver, 40year-old Deborah Owens of Woodland, was treated at DuBois Regional Medical Center for moderate injuries.

The theft of a hay bale elevator from a wagon parked in McKean County is under investigation by state police at Kane. Someone lifted the item from a wagon parked in a field on the south side of Prospect Hill Road, near Smethport. The elevator, made of orange tubular steel with an electric motor attached, is owned by Paul Vossler.

Someone stole a cooler containing alcoholic beverages from a Shippen Township residence on Independence Day. State police from Emporium said the cooler was swiped from the front porch of the Ryan Magaro residence on Rich Valley Road.

State police at Kane have charged 32-year-old Kenneth Brassard of Ellensburg Depot, N. Y., with criminal mischief for an incident allegedly taking place near the intersection of Routes 219 and 770 in Lafayette Township, McKean County. Authorities claim Brassard kicked in a rear tail light on a vehicle owned by United Steel Workers while it was at that location.

State police at Denton Hill are looking for the vandals who ran a vehicle through a yard in Eulalia Township, creating ruts and destroying turf at the home of Vickie Matteson on Town Line Road. The incident took place between 5:30 p.m. Monday and 8:00 a.m. Tuesday.