Bellefonte man dies in head-on crash in Potters Mills Gap

A Bellefonte man died Wednesday in a head-on collision that shut down both lanes of traffic on Old Fort Road/state Route 144 between Chestnut Street and Earlystown Road/state Route 45 for nearly three hours.

The crash happened around noon Wednesday in the 100 block of Route 144 near the intersection with U.S. Route 322/General Potter Highway when Cubby Bair, 77, of Bellefonte, was traveling north on Route 144 and for unknown reasons drifted into the southbound lane directly in front of a gray GMC truck driven by Gary Stidfole, 65, of Lewistown.

The two vehicles collided and Bair was pronounced dead on the scene by a Centre County deputy coroner. Centre County 911 dispatch reported a vehicle accident with one person unresponsive and trapped in the car with the engine on fire.

Stidfole was transported to Mount Nittany Medical Center for injuries of unknown severity, according to the police report.

Traffic backed up onto General Potter Highway causing major travel delays in the area of Potters Mills Gap, especially westbound toward Boalsburg.

Centre Hall Fire Company and fire police, Boalsburg Fire Company, Miles Township Fire Company, Penns Valley EMS and state police responded to the scene.

State police at Rockview are investigating the crash.

Bair, a Lewistown native, was well-known in the Centre region for his bartending prowess, including a stint at the All-American Rathskeller. The Daily Collegian profiled his ACE bartending class in a 2002 article. He was also Known throughout the community as a youth wrestling referee and baseball umpire.

Just three weeks ago, Bair’s sister Marjorie Goodman was also the victim of a fatal traffic accident on Route 322 in Potters Mills Gap.

This story was originally published November 21, 2018 at 12:34 PM with the headline "Bellefonte man dies in head-on crash in Potters Mills Gap."