BETHLEHEM TWP., Pa. — A driver was killed early Saturday morning in a high-speed crash on Route 22 in Northampton County, according to state police.
David Puchala, 27, of Youngstown, Ohio, was the driver of a car that was traveling at speeds exceeding 100 mph prior to the crash about 2:55 a.m., police said in a release.
The crash occurred near mile marker 330.9, about a mile west of the Route 191 exit in Bethlehem Township.
Police said Puchala was operating a 2004 Subaru Impreza and traveling east in the left lane at high speed when he swerved abruptly to the right to avoid hitting a bumper in the roadway.
Puchala lost control of his vehicle, which veered off the road, struck an embankment and went airborne, police said.
While airborne, the car tore through a chain-link fence and hit a tree head-on. The vehicle then rotated and struck a second tree rear-end first, the release said.
Puchala was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected during the crash, it said.
Emergency crews from Bethlehem Township EMS arrived on scene at 3:03 a.m. and transported Puchala to St. Luke’s Anderson Campus, where he was pronounced dead at 3:56 a.m.
State police said next of kin were notified shortly after 4 a.m.
Puchala's vehicle, which landed on the right shoulder of Route 22 East, was towed away by Fast Lane Towing. The road was closed for several hours and reopened about 6:30 a.m. Sunday.
State police were assisted at the scene by the Nancy Run Fire Department.
The investigation into the crash is ongoing, police said.