3 DIE ON
WESTBOUND INTERSTATE 70 IN FALLOWFIELD, PENNSYLVANIA WHEN THEIR CHRYSLER TOWN
& COUNTRY SLAMMED INTO THE BACK OF A TRACTOR-TRAILER, THEN HIT THE MEDIAN
AND CAUGHT FIRE.
January 16, 2015
Frank Kramer, his wife and daughter were on their way in
their minivan to visit family in Washington County for the weekend to celebrate
a late Christmas.
When they didn't show up on time Friday night en route
from their home in Middletown, Dauphin County, family members knew something
was wrong.
State police and the county coroner said Kramer, 57, his
wife, Kristy, 52, and daughter, Taylor, 22, died in a fiery crash just after
9:30 p.m. on westbound Interstate 70 in Fallowfield when their Chrysler Town
& Country slammed into the back of a tractor-trailer.
“I called them both, and no one answered, so I called
the state police,” said Donna Kramer, 79, of North Strabane, Frank Kramer's mother.
“The officer asked me if someone in the car used a wheelchair, and I said,
‘Yes, my granddaughter.' Then the state police and coroner came to the house
about 2 a.m. It's like a nightmare.”
The minivan hit the back of a tractor-trailer driven by
Yaw K. Oppong, 43, of Denver. The van then hit a median and caught fire,
according to the Washington County Coroner Tim Warco. The impact pushed the
tractor-trailer into another vehicle driven by Thomas E. Evans, 60, of Luzerne,
Fayette County, according to state police.
Police did not report other injuries. All three members
of the Kramer family died at the scene.
Trooper Kevin Gabrovsek said the crash is under
investigation to determine what caused the vehicle to run into the back of the
tractor-trailer. He said there were no skid marks that were made before the
collision.
“There didn't appear to be any evasive action,”
Gabrovsek said.
Frank Kramer was a former newspaper pressman who retired
for health problems, including bouts with lung cancer and kidney dialysis, his
mother said. He graduated from Canon-McMillan High School before working for
several newspapers in the area.
Kristy Murdock Kramer graduated from Waynesburg High
School and later Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a degree in
journalism. She was working as a reporter at the former Democrat-Messenger of
Waynesburg when she met her husband, who was working in the pressroom at the
time.
They later moved to Middletown and worked at a newspaper
there, family said, before Kristy quit to take care of their daughter, who had
disabilities from Rett syndrome and required around-the-clock care.
“My sister was a big advocate for the Rett Syndrome
Foundation and was always doing fundraisers,” said her brother, Steven “Kelly”
Murdock, 54, of Waynesburg. “She really took care of my niece. My niece was
really into Sidney Crosby and the Penguins. They never missed a game.
“We had postponed Christmas from the regular time
because Frank was having some health problems, so this was going to be our
Christmas weekend.”
Donna Kramer said she worried that her son's recent
dialysis would have made him too tired to drive.
“I talked to him just before he left. I told him to be
real careful,” Donna Kramer said. “He said he would, and then I said, ‘I love
you.' He said, ‘I love you too,' and that's the last time I talked to him.”
Behm Funeral Home in Waynesburg is handling the
arrangements, family members said.
