By Tricia Pursell
FREEBURG — Ashley Rawlings, of Freeburg, has only lived in her home along Route 35 since July, but already she is seeing what many long-term resident have been frustrated by for years.
“I think it (the speed of vehicles) needs to slow down before they come into town,” she said.
On her way home Friday evening, she was reminded of this concern — one that almost kept her and her family from moving into the town — when she was stopped just outside the borough at the scene of a crash.
One of the drivers in that accident, Brittany E. Eshenaur, 21, of Freeburg, died Saturday evening at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville.
Police said her car was hit from behind and catapulted into the path of an oncoming vehicle at Route 35 and East Front Street in Washington Township, just outside the borough, at 5:39 p.m. Friday.
Near the accident scene, the speed limit changes in a short distance from 55 mph to 35 mph.
But according to neighbors, not many heed the signs.
“They just fly through here,” said Brenda Straub, who has lived in her home along Route 35 in Freeburg for the past 17 years.
At one point, a car even ended up on her front porch after a crash caused by speeding, she said.
Other neighbors, who wished not to be identified, agreed that the most of traffic travels too fast in town limits. One woman, who has lived in her Freeburg home for approximately 30 years, said it has gotten worse in recent years.
A trooper at the Selinsgrove state police station on Monday said no further information about the cause of Friday’s crash was available. It is unknown whether 39-year-old Jeffrey Leitzel, of Richfield, whose car plowed into the rear of Eshenaur’s vehicle, was driving too fast
While the fatal crash is still under investigation, trooper Matt Burrows, with the state police at Milton, said it is likely that investigators will be discussing charges to be filed against Leitzel.
Based on what he knew of the crash, Burrows said on Monday, “She’s (Eshenaur) probably not at fault.”
Eshenaur was reportedly headed west toward Freeburg on Route 35 and was waiting to turn left onto East Front Street, a road that veers diagonally off Route 35.
Eshenaur’s vehicle, after being hit in the rear, was pushed into the northbound lane of Route 35, where it was struck by a sport utility vehicle driven by Gary L. Carstetter, 54, of Freeburg.
Carstetter suffered moderate injuries. His passenger, Boneta C. Carstetter, 48, was uninjured.
Leitzel also suffered a moderate injury, police said.
