One dead, one in hospital after Tuesday accident
A Smithfield man involved in a one-vehicle crash in North Union Township Tuesday died of head and face injuries, according to the Fayette County Coroner’s office. Deputy Coroner Jessie Langer said Wednesday that Deputy Coroner Alvin Sapp pronounced Charles Nine, 24, dead at the scene of the crash on Old Braddock Road at 1:30 p.m. Langer said an autopsy will not be performed.
State police said Nine was a passenger in a 1981 Ford pickup truck driven by Richard Kazimer, 21, of Uniontown.
Police said the crash occurred around noon New Year’s Day when the southbound truck left the road, struck a tree on the passenger’s side door, overturned and then struck two more trees.
One of the men had to be extracted from the wreckage, police said.
Kazimer suffered major injuries and was flown by medical helicopter to UPMC Mercy hospital in Pittsburgh for treatment.
Hospital officials said Kazimer was in stable condition Wednesday afternoon.
Neither man was wearing a seat belt when the crash occurred, police said.
Volunteer firefighters from Dunbar, North Union, South Union and Hopwood and emergency personnel from Fayette EMS and Uniontown Firemen’s Ambulance assisted at the scene.
The Goldsboro-Tomi Funeral Home in Fairchance is handling funeral arrangements for Nine.