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Coroner: Second July 4 crash turns deadly as Allentown scooter rider dies

N 8th St and W. Chew St
Image captured April 2024
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A man was killed in a July 4 crash on N. 8th St. just north of W. Chew Street in Allentown, the Lehigh County Coroner's Office said.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A 52-year-old Allentown man has died from injuries sustained in a July 4 crash on a scooter, the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office said.

The man, identified only as John Doe, was pronounced dead on Tuesday at 8:46 p.m. at Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest.

He was injured about 5:30 p.m. July 4 while operating a scooter on North 8th Street, just north of W. Chew Street in Allentown, when he was struck by a vehicle.

The man was ejected off the scooter onto the vehicle, then onto the roadway, the coroner’s office said in a release.

“John Doe has been tentatively identified; however, the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office and Forensics Center is aggressively trying to locate his next-of-kin and will not be releasing his identity until the family and next-of-kin have been located and identified,” Coroner Dan Buglio said.

In addition to the coroner’s office, Allentown Police Department and the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office are investigating.

Second death on July 4

A separate crash on July 4 in Upper Macungie Township also claimed the life of a 76-year-old man.

Thomas Hess was operating a pedal-assist electric bicycle when he was involved in a collision with a motor vehicle, the coroner’s office said in a release July 5.

The incident took place at about 11:15 a.m. near Schantz Road and Cetronia Road.

Hess’s death was attributed to multiple blunt force trauma from injuries in the crash. His death was ruled an accident.

That investigation involves the coroner’s office, the Upper Macungie Township Police Department, the Lehigh County Crash Team and the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office.