Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Passenger Killed in I-78 Wreck Identified

Authorities have also identified the driver of the vehicle that collided with a tractor-trailer Tuesday as Thomas J. Frezza of Nazareth, according to a story published in the Express-Times.

UPDATE, July 28, 9:30am: The passenger killed in the July 26, 2011 early morning crash on I-78 east of Hellertown has been identified as 21-year-old Russian man Evgeny Vinogradov, according to the Express-Times. The article states that Vinogradov was in the U.S. on a work and travel visa, that he was ejected from the vehicle, and that the Northampton County Coroner has ruled his death accidental and the result of multiple blunt force trauma.

Original Story:

The Northampton County Coroner's office and the Pennsylvania State Police are seeking next of kin for the passenger killed in a wrong-way collision on Interstate 78 in Lower Saucon Township Tuesday morning, according to an article published in the Express-Times.

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The article also states that the driver of the vehicle that was traveling east in the highway's westbound lanes has been identified as Thomas J. Frezza, 21, of Nazareth.

The driver of the truck has reportedly been identified as Jairum Baez-Taverez, 28, of Ridgewood, N.Y.

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Both drivers were treated at a local hospital for injuries, according to the article, but the age and gender of the passenger killed have not been made public, and so far authorities have released few details about the circumstances surrounding the accident that caused a hazardous materials spill and .


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