By JOHN M. HOOBER III, Staff
A truck driven by a Lancaster County man struck and killed an 18-year-old walking on Route 283 in Dauphin County early Thursday morning, Harrisburg state police said.
Dale K. Shellenberger, 55, of Bird-in-Hand, did not see the pedestrian, who was in a northbound traffic lane, Trooper Karl A. Schmidhamer said.
The accident happened at 5 a.m. Thursday, north of the Lindle Road (Route 441) exit near Steelton in Swatara Township.
Shellenberger was driving a delivery truck from Fairway Building Products of Mount Joy north on Route 283. He was hauling vinyl and soffit materials, said Trooper John O'Day, who is the accident investigator.
The pedestrian, identified by police as Elijah Brabham Lawrence, 18, of the 2100 block of Derry Street, Harrisburg, was in the right northbound lane.
"It is not known what the pedestrian was doing on the roadway at the time of the crash," Schmidhamer said.
Police said Shellenberger was unaware of what his truck had struck. He continued north onto Route 83 and then pulled over.
"He checked his vehicle for damage and then contacted 911," Schmidhamer said.
The accident remains under investigation, but the truck driver does not appear to be at fault, police reported this morning.
Following the accident, police got calls from other people who said they had seen someone walking on the highway. Anyone who saw the victim near Route 283 prior to the crash is asked to contact Harrisburg State Police at 671-7500.
Two accidents that happened Thursday in East Cocalico Township involved injuries.
Shortly after 9 p.m, a 2001 Volkswagen driven by Stewart Herbine, 51, of Sycamore Circle, Stevens, went off the 600 block of Holtzman Road, east of Reinholds, police said.
Reinholds firefighters freed Herbine, who was taken to Reading Hospital and Medical Center. The accident closed the road for about an hour, police said.
Jessica Heffner, 19, of Julie Ann Court, Ephrata, was injured when her 1993 Toyota crashed in the 200 block of North Reamstown Road at about 9:50 a.m. Thursday, police said.
Heffner was treated for minor injuries at Ephrata Community Hospital. Police said she was driving at a high rate of speed, lost control on a curve, and her car struck an embankment.
Staff writer John M. Hoober III can be reached at jhoober@LNPnews.com or 481-6027.
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