Adrian Oswaldo Sura Reyes: Man who plowed into Berwick crowd and killed mom out of ‘frustration’ says SORRY
BERWICK, PENNSYLVANIA: A Pennsylvania man is facing the death penalty after he intentionally drove his car into a community fundraiser, injuring 17 people and killing one in Berwick. He is also accused of bludgeoning his mother to death afterwards. Pennsylvania State Police said 24-year-old Adrian Oswaldo Sura Reyes drove into a crowd of 75 people.
The fundraiser was being held for the families of 10 people who died in a house fire recently. The crash occurred at around 6:30 pm on Saturday, August 13, at a restaurant called Intoxicology Department in Berwick. At the time, it was hosting a day-long event to raise money for the families of the people who were killed in a fire. The crash killed an unidentified woman aged 50.
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According to authorities, Reyes then fled the scene but later went on to bludgeon his mother, Rosa Reyes, 56, to death. Charging documents stated that Reyes plowed into the crowd because he was "frustrated" with his mother after a dispute over issues related to money. Charging documents obtained by The Daily Beast stated Reyes admitted to have bludgeoned his mother in the head "four or five times" with a hammer. He is charged with two counts of homicide and is being held at the Columbia County Correctional Facility without bail, the Daily Mail reported. Reyes allegedly said "sorry" to cops as they took to him to court.
ABC News said that Geisinger Hospital has confirmed it was providing medical care for more than 15 patients who were injured in the crash. Four of them were said to be in critical condition. The rest of the injured were taken to different hospitals.
Reyes had been arrested earlier in December 2020 for another altercation with his mother when the two of them had an argument over a cellphone. Berwick Police Department report said Reyes snatched the phone from his mother's hand and hit her in the face with it at the time. He pleaded guilty to an assault and harassment charge and was sentenced to 12 months of probation. His probation ended last month.
The fundraiser was being held after a deadly fire ravaged a Pennsylvania house, killing 10 people, including three children, on August 5, 2022. All the victims were members of the same family and were related to a volunteer fireman who responded to the blaze. State police confirmed that the Nescopeck blaze killed three children, aged 5, 6, and 7, and seven adults. Three others managed to escape the horror. Police now believe they have no reason to believe Reyes is a suspect in the fire.
The house fire may have started on the front porch of the Nescopeck home, according to an official. Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce said that as per a preliminary investigation, the blaze erupted on the porch around 2:30 am on Friday. “The information I have is that the fire started and progressed very quickly, making it very difficult to get out,” he said. The victims were members of firefighter Harold Baker's family.
Nescopeck volunteer firefighter Harold Baker said that the victims included his son, daughter, father-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, three grandchildren, and two other relatives. “When we turned the corner up here on Dewey [Street] I knew right away what house it was just by looking down the street,” Baker told The Citizens’ Voice. “I was on the first engine, and when we pulled up, the whole place was fully involved. We tried to get into them.”
Thirteen dogs were in the home when the blaze engulfed it, Baker told WNEP, but it is unclear if any of them survived. Among the victims were Dale Baker, 19; Star Baker, 22; David Daubert Sr, 79; Brian Daubert, 42; Shannon Daubert, 45; Laura Daubert, 47; and Marian Slusser, 54.