20070826 Fatal accident snarls traffic for hours - Kills local Westminster man

Gettysburg Times Front Page News: Fatal accident snarls traffic for hours

Sunday, August 26th, 2007

1 dead, 1 jailed after crash on U.S. 15

BY JOHN MESSEDER - Times staff writer

A 72-year-old Maryland man was in jail Friday night, charged with causing the death of one person and hospitalization of another after a two-car crash that closed northbound U.S. 15 for more than three hours.

According to state police investigators, witnesses said William Franklin Lapole was northbound on U.S. 15 shortly before 1 p.m., driving his 1997 Buick LeSabre at a "high rate of speed and making numerous lane changes."

About a half-mile before the U.S. 30 interchange, Lapole pulled into the left-hand, passing lane, but failed to slow down before driving into the rear of a car already in that lane, a 2002 Chevrolet Corvette driven by Steven E. Rill, 59, of Hampstead, Md.

The impact forced Rill's Corvette off the west side of the roadway and through a guardrail. Its right side destroyed, the vehicle came to rest facing south.

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Rill's passenger, Alfred A. Dell, 52, of Westminster, Md., died at the scene from injuries he received in the crash.

Rill was flown by Stat MedEvac helicopter to York Hospital, where he was listed in serious condition late Friday night.

Lapole was uninjured.

He was committed to Adams County Prison, charged with homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault and reckless driving.

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