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In article <td79ca$2oh6b$5@dont-email.me>
governor.swill@gmail.com wrote:

Yes he is a Democrat in good standing.

BERWICK, Pennsylvania -- Pennsylvania state police say a man
upset about an argument with his mother drove into a crowd of
people at a fundraiser for victims of a recent deadly house
fire, killing one person at the event and injuring 17 others,
then returned home and beat his mother to death.

Police identified the driver as 24-year-old Adrian Oswaldo Sura
Reyes of Nescopeck, who was arraigned early Sunday on two counts
of criminal homicide.

Police allege in a criminal complaint that Sura Reyes said he
argued with his mother at their Nescopeck home Saturday evening
and while driving through nearby Berwick was "extremely
frustrated" and was "tired of fighting with his mother,
including about money, and wanted to be done with it."

At the time, police said, a crowd of about 75 people, including
adults and small children, had gathered in a blocked-off parking
lot in Berwick outside the Intoxicology Department bar, which
was holding an all-day fundraising event to benefit victims of
the Aug. 5 blaze in Nescopeck that killed seven adults and three
children.

Police say Sura Reyes told them he drove past the gathering,
then turned around and headed back to the bar "to drive through
the crowd of people." Investigators asked how fast he drove into
the crowd and Sura Reyes replied "speeding up."

"Video surveillance gathered by the Pennsylvania State Police
corroborates Sura Reyes's statement that he sped up into the
crowd purposefully," according to the criminal complaint.

Geisinger Medical Center said it received 15 patients after the
crash, and five remained in critical condition while three were
listed in fair condition, a hospital spokesperson said Sunday
morning. Seven patients had been treated at hospitals and
released.

Trooper Anthony Petroski III told reporters late Saturday that
Sura Reyes was not currently a suspect in the fire - the cause
of which remains under investigation.

"This is a complete tragedy in a community where there's already
been tragedy," Petroski said.

Shortly after the crash was reported, troopers were called about
a man "physically assaulting" a woman less than two miles away
in Nescopeck. Troopers arrived to find local police had arrested
Sura Reyes and that a woman was dead.

Luzerne County Coroner Francis Hacken confirmed Sunday that the
victim, Rosa D. Reyes, 56, of Nescopeck, was the mother of Sura
Reyes and had died of multiple traumatic injuries after being
hit by a vehicle and assaulted with a hammer.

In the criminal complaint, police say Sura Reyes told
investigators he saw his mother in the street upon returning
home and hit her with his vehicle, then struck her with a hammer
several times.

Sura Reyes was denied bail and remained in Columbia County
prison pending an Aug. 29 preliminary hearing. News outlets
reported he said "Sorry" in response to reporters' questions as
he was taken from the Shickshinny police station. It wasn't
immediately clear whether he had a lawyer to comment on his
behalf.

The first funerals for victims of the fire were held Friday, and
more were scheduled for Sunday and Monday.

The bar called the events an "absolute tragedy" and said on its
Facebook page that they will be closed until further notice and
would like privacy "while we grieve and try to process the
events that occurred."

https://6abc.com/berwick-pa-crash-car-at-fire-benefit-2nd-street- nescopeck/12123263/

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In article <td79ca$2oh6b$5@dont-email.me>
governor.swill@gmail.com wrote:

Yes he is a Democrat in good standing.

State police early Sunday morning charged a man with two counts
of criminal homicide on accusations he plowed a vehicle through
a crowded Berwick fundraiser — killing one person and wounding
17 — before bludgeoning a woman to death in nearby Nescopeck
moments later.

While being escorted out of the state police barracks at
Shickshinny just before 3 a.m. Sunday, Adrian Oswaldo Sura
Reyes, 24, of Nescopeck simply said “sorry” in response to
questions by reporters.

Following his arraignment, Reyes was sent to Columbia County
jail without bail, state police said in a statement around 4:30
a.m.

“The person who did these heinous crimes tonight is in custody
right now,” Trooper Anthony Petroski, spokesperson for state
police Troop N, said in a news conference shortly before
midnight.

Police did not release a possible motive for the crimes.

The chaos unfolded around 6:15 p.m. Saturday when a vehicle
plowed into a large crowd gathered outside the Intoxicology
Department bar in Berwick, which was hosting a fundraiser for
the families of the 10 people killed in the Aug. 5 fire in
Nescopeck.

“This is crazy. I didn’t even bury my kids yet,” Nescopeck
volunteer firefighter Harold Baker said as he hugged a woman
outside the bar, telling her other family members of his were
hurt when the vehicle ran into the crowd.

Baker’s son, daughter and three grandchildren were among those
who died in the fire, which Baker responded to as a member of
his department. It wasn’t clear if either crime was connected to
the fire.

Contrary to Internet rumors, Petroski said Reyes is not a
suspect in the fatal blaze.

Shortly after the carnage unfolded in Berwick, police received a
call of a man assaulting a woman in Nescopeck and when officers
arrived they found the woman dead.

Reyes was soon detained by police and determined to be the
suspect in both incidents, launching a joint multicounty
investigation, since Berwick is in Columbia County and Nescopeck
is in Luzerne County, investigators said.

“This is a complete tragedy in a community where there already
has been tragedy,” Petroski said. “They are already hurting.”

State police said 12 victims of the Berwick incident were
transported to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, three were
taken to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains
Township, one was taken to Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospital, and
one was taken to Berwick Hospital.

Major Chris Paris, an area commander of several state police
troops, said troopers were called out to interview victims in
the hospitals and limited information was available.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to those injured this evening.
Certainly it was an event for a noble cause,” Paris said.

Paris pledged the full force of the state police to investigate
the crimes.

The Intoxicology Department issued a brief statement about the
chaotic incident on its Facebook page.

“Today was an absolute tragedy. We will be closed until further
notice. Please respect our privacy while we grieve and try to
process the events that occurred. Thank you,” the bar posted.

Meanwhile, state police worked through Saturday night, combing
through the debris in the parking lot, where the fundraiser was
being held for the fire victims.

The raging fire Aug. 5 in Nescopeck claimed the lives of 10
people who were staying at 733 First St. for a family get-
together — including several generations of relatives and two
sets of siblings.

Witnesses reported hearing a loud popping sound when the fire
broke out around 2:30 a.m. and seeing a raging fire quickly
consume the front of the house, allowing only three occupants to
escape.

The fire remains the subject of a criminal investigation.

Anyone who witnessed or has video of the vehicle plowing through
the crowd in Berwick is asked to call state police or call 911.

https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-nws-nescopeck-fire-fundraiser- homicide-arrest-20220814-bitb4h4afvdehjiq4453sxyvzi-story.html

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