SAINT CLAIR - Two drivers trying to beat a yellow traffic signal Tuesday evening at Route 61 and Hancock Street were involved in a violent crash that sent four people, including a child, to trauma centers.
Saint Clair police Patrolman Christopher Zubris said Jennifer Johnstone, Mahanoy Plane, was driving a Volvo south on Route 61 when she tried to turn left onto Hancock Street, but in doing so drove into the path of a Dodge Neon being driven north on Route 61.
The Neon struck the Volvo on the passenger's side, Zubris said.
He said a Johnstone and her 4-year-old son were flown to a trauma center while two adults in the Neon, a backseat passenger identified as Brian Clancy, Shenandoah, and a front-seat passenger identified as Rebecca Mills, no age or address available, were flown to trauma centers as well.
The driver of the Neon, Isabella Huntzinger, Pottsville, was not hurt, Zubris said.
Zubris said Johnstone failed to yield to the northbound Dodge Neon, resulting in the crash.
Saint Clair firefighters, Saint Clair EMS and Pottsville-Schuylkill Haven-Orwigsburg Area EMS were dispatched at 6:03 p.m. and quickly treated the victims at the scene and transported them to the fields at Veterans Memorial Stadium, where three medical helicopters landed.
The injured were taken to trauma centers by the Life Flight helicopter from Geisinger Medical Center, Danville; the MedEvac helicopter from Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest; and the PennStar helicopter from St. Luke's Hospital University Hospital - Bethlehem.
Zubris said the four people flown suffered serious injuries but none of those injuries appeared to be life threatening.
Saint Clair Fire Police assisted with traffic control at the crash site and helicopter landing area and Zubris said the investigation into the crash is continuing.