Connellsville man killed in car accident
SPRINGFIELD TWP. – A Connellsville man was killed early Saturday while driving along Route 711 near Mount Tabor Road. State police at Uniontown said Wilbert Brooks, 30, who lived on Mount Tabor Road, lost control of the 1998 Ford Explorer he was driving while attempting to negotiate a curve in the road.
Brooks’ vehicle left the roadway and struck a utility pole around 2:15 a.m., police said.
According to police, Brooks was not wearing a seatbelt.
Fayette County Coroner Dr. Phillip Reilly said Brooks, who was not thrown from the vehicle, died of blunt force trauma after his vehicle rolled over. Efforts to revive him at the scene were unsuccessful, Reilly said.
An emergency room physician at Highlands Hospital pronounced Brooks dead at 3:07 a.m.
Reilly said he will hold an inquest into the accident but will conduct no autopsy.
In addition to state police, crews from Fayette EMS responded to the crash scene.
Brooks was born Oct. 24, 1971, in Connellsville, son of Calvin J. and Susie Christison Brooks of Connellsville.
A graduate of Connellsville Area High School, he was employed as a truck driver for Pleasant Trucking of Connellsville and was a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles in Connellsville.
He was predeceased by his paternal grandmother, Dorothy Prinkey Brooks, and his maternal grandparents, Anna and Neal Christison.
In addition to his parents, he is survived by his wife, Karen Deak Brooks; one brother, James Brooks of Connellsville; his paternal grandfather, Wilbert Brooks of Vanderbilt; his father-in-law and mother-in-law, William and Sophie Cross of Uniontown; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.
Friends will be received in the Brooks Funeral Home Inc., 111 E. Green St., Connellsville, on Monday and Tuesday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Services will be held in the funeral home Wednesday at 1 p.m., with the Rev. Terry Upton officiating.
Interment will follow in Normalville Cemetery.