Man, 90, Crashes Car at Funeral Procession

BIRDSBORO, Pa. – A car in a funeral procession entering a cemetery in Exeter Township, Berks County, careened out of control and struck a minivan in the procession, and nine people were injured in the crash, police said.

Howard L. Luckenbill, 90, the driver of the car; his wife, Laura Luckenbill, 91; and six people who were in the van were taken to Reading Hospital with unspecified injuries, police said. A 13-year-old boy in the van was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital with head injuries, officials said.

Lisa O’Hara, 37, a family service counselor in a nearby office, said she saw Luckenbill’s car collide with the van and ran to help. “He (Luckenbill) said, ‘I bought new shoes for the funeral and I thought I was hitting the brake, but I was hitting the gas,’ ” O’Hara said.