ROEDERSVILLE - An 81-year-old woman died Tuesday morning when the vehicle she was riding in struck a tree just off Sweet Arrow Lake Road in Washington Township, according to state police at Schuylkill Haven.
Schuylkill County Deputy Coroner Wallace Hodgson pronounced Mary Reed, 81, of Pine Hill Road, Pine Grove, dead on the scene, according to state Trooper Jeffrey Hummel of the Schuylkill Haven barracks, the investigating officer.
Meanwhile, two other women in the vehicle, the driver, Bonnie Neal, 61, and a passenger, Annie Reed, 41, both of Pine Grove, were flown to Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hummel said.
Mary Reed is the mother of Bonnie Neal and Annie Reed, Hummel said.
The accident was reported at 7:59 a.m. It occurred between Roedersville Road and Dewalt Road, according to a supervisor at Schuylkill County Communications, Pottsville.
Bonnie Neal was driving a green 1995 Subaru Legacy station wagon east on Sweet Arrow Lake Road. Her mother, Mary Reed, was riding in the passenger side front seat. Her sister, Annie Reed, was riding in the back seat on the driver's side, police said.
Neal hit a large patch of ice which covered the entire eastbound lane. She lost control and slid into a tree, Hummel said.
The vehicle sustained heavy damage to its passenger side front end, police said.
Responders included Pine Grove firefighters, Pine Grove EMS, West Schuylkill ALS and Pottsville/Schuylkill Haven Area EMS, and two medical helicopters, MedEvac 7 and PennSTAR 5, police said.
The scene was cleared at 10:15 a.m., according to the communications supervisor.
A virtual autopsy will be done today on the body of Mary Reed at Simon Kramer Institute, New Philadelphia, under the direction of Schuylkill County Coroner Dr. David J. Moylan III, Hummel said.
Aside from that, Hummel said the investigation is complete and no charges will be filed.