CRASHES KILL TWO AREA MEN
Freezing rain blamed for Wednesday deaths

State police from Denton Hill investigated a one-vehicle crash in Roulette Township Tuesday morning.Officers report that Monica Musser of Coudersport lost control of her pickup truck while rounding a curve on Seymour Drive. The vehicle slid on the ice, slammed into an embankment and overturned. Musser was not injured. Police said she'll be charged with a safe speed violation.

Freezing rain and icy road conditions were factors in two fatal car accidents Wednesday morning.

A northern Potter County man was killed in a one-car crash on an icy highway north of Coudersport. State police from Denton Hill identified the victim as 25-year-old Joshua L. Allen of Genesee.

Police said Allen was westbound on Rt. 49 at about 7:20 when he lost control of his 2000 Kia Sportage in Allegany Township, between Raymond and Colesburg. The vehicle slid off the highway, traveled off the south side and plunged down an embankment, then rolled onto its passenger side and struck a tree.

Allen, who was traveling alone and not wearing a seat belt, was pronounced dead at the scene due to head injuries.

About 45 minutes before that crash, an Elk County man was killed in a two-vehicle accident on slippery Rt. 255 in Fox Township.

Benjamin P. Friedl, 27, of St. Marys, died of injuries he received when the car he was driving collided with a truck driven by Thomas S. Resch, 41, of Kersey.

State police from Ridgway said Friedl was southbound, just north of the Pontzer Road intersection, when his vehicle slid into the path of Resch's northbound truck. Resch was taken to Elk Regional Health Center in St. Marys for treatment of major injuries.

Both drivers were wearing their seat belts. Elk County Coroner Lou Radkowski said Friedl, an Elk County Catholic High School graduate who was a math teacher at DuBois High School, died of head and chest trauma.

Rain turned to ice and freezing rain just before dawn Wednesday across the region, prompting most area school districts to delay the start of classes by two hours.