By Gina Morton
HERNDON -- Three workers were on their way to the hospital after one of them suffered a chain saw injury when their dump truck ran off the road and into a garage.
Two people were taken to Geisinger Medical Center — Michael Brunetto, 28, of Sunbury, by LifeFlight helicopter and Michael Wilt, 20, of Sunbury, by ambulance, according to Tony Gilligan, first assistant fire chief. The third refused treatment.
Jesse Stahl, 19, of Sunbury, said he and two co-workers were cutting down trees when one cut his arm with a chain saw. The three were on their way to the hospital when they came upon an S-turn in downtown Herndon.
“I was driving about 30 miles per hour,” Stahl said, “and took my eyes off the road for a second to look for the four-ways.”
When he looked up, he said he turned the wheel too fast at the curve and his vehicle slid across the road.
The truck, towing a wood chipper and trailer filled with wood chips, lay on its side between a garage at 159 S. Main St. and a utility pole. The door of the garage was crushed in while the trailer of wood chips lay detached several feet away.
Herndon Fire Department members were shoveling wood chips out of the road, and debris lay scattered next to a long stretch of skid marks.
Neighbor Mark Greb was in his front room decorating his Christmas tree when he heard a loud crash.
“It lasted about 15 seconds,” he said. “By the time I put my shoes and sweatshirt on and got outside, they were climbing out.”
“It’s a dangerous turn,” he said of the road. “This is the fifth time an accident happened since I moved here five years ago.”
Stahl, visibly rattled by the accident, said he had just started the job on Thursday and was worried he wouldn’t have it any longer. Recently out of prison, he kept repeating that he was afraid he’d be sent back due to the crash.
“I’m just shaken up,” Stahl said, “otherwise I’m perfectly fine.”
An official at the Northumberland County Adult Probation Office said Stahl is on parole for simple assault and probation for drug paraphernalia. He sees no reason Stahl would return to prison because of the accident. Stahl was arrested in March after he bit Sunbury Police Chief Steve Mazzeo during a tussle at the police station.
