20-year-old woman dies in crash that caused extended closure of U.S. 322 in Potter Township
U.S. Route 322 was closed between Potters Mills and Boalsburg for about 9 hours after a crash early Wednesday morning that involved two vehicles and left a 20-year-old woman dead.
The crash happened at about 2:30 a.m. in the 2700 block of General Potter Highway at the intersection of Mountain Back Road, according to a crash report from state police at Rockview. The driver of a tractor-trailer was traveling east on U.S. 322 when a Subaru driven by an 18-year-old State College man failed to stop at a stop sign on Mountain Back Road, police wrote.
The Subaru struck the side of the tractor-trailer, Centre County Coroner Scott Sayers wrote in a Wednesday night press release, and the rear passenger — 20-year-old Elizabeth A. Biddle of Boalsburg — was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.
Sayers wrote that Biddle died as a result of head trauma and he ruled the death accidental.
The driver of the Subaru was transported to Mount Nittany Medical Center for minor injuries. The front seat passenger, a 21-year-old State College woman, was evaluated on scene and refused further treatment, police said. No information on the driver of the tractor-trailer was released.
The highway reopened just before noon Wednesday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Before that, motorists faced heavy delays, with traffic backed up mid-morning on state Route 144 headed toward Centre Hall to turn left onto state Route 45.
Centre Hall, Boalsburg, Alpha and Gregg Township fire companies were among those that responded to the scene.
The crash remains under investigation by state police at Rockview.
This story was originally published August 4, 2021 at 10:38 AM.
