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Alfa 164 Rekindles Legendary Memories

By DIONNE PEEPLES-SALAH; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Tuesday, November 24, 1992 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A QUICK WORDS: BUTCHKO 





WILKES-BARRE -- The truck driver leaned up against the side of the old
Stegmaier building and threw his head back in disbelief when emergency workers
placed a white sheet over the driver's side of the car wedged beneath his rig. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I couldn't move the truck. I just stopped. I knew he was going to hit it,"
said 22-year-old James Johnson, of Allentown, his hands shaking
uncontrollably. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; " `Yo stop!' I kept yelling, `Yo stop!' " &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 An elderly Nanticoke man was killed Monday evening when his car plowed into
the side of Johnson's tractor-trailer, which blocked East Market Street as he
was backing into a loading dock. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Joseph F. Butchko, 87, was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:10 p.m. by
assistant chief deputy coroner Harry Hyman. A female passenger was taken to an
area hospital. Her name had not been released by police late Monday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Butchko was traveling east on East Market Street as the 18-wheeler was
backing up into the loading dock of Diversified Records at East Market and
Lincoln streets, according to witnesses. His car became wedged beneath the
trailer portion of the rig. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The truck blocked traffic in all four lanes of East Market and men on
either side of the truck who had been guiding the truck driver had yelled for
Butchko to stop, witnesses said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tom Vickers, 58, who helped to guide the truck into the loading dock, said
the car's driver apparently didn't realize the truck was there until it was
too late. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "He just drove underneath. ... No brakes. No nothing," Vickers said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 County Coroner George E. Hudock Jr. will conduct an examination this
afternoon to determine the cause and manner of death. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As a crowd gathered near the accident scene, people held their mouths in
disbelief as they watched rescue workers lower the tires on Butchko's Buick
Regal to create enough space between the truck and the car to free Butchko's
body from the wreckage. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Some onlookers cried and some prayed.

Elderly Driver Dies After Plowing Into Rig 
87-year-old Nanticoke Man's Car Ran Into Side Of Tractor-trailer As It Was 
Backing Into A Loading Dock On East 
Market Street

Elderly Driver Dies After Plowing Into Rig 87-year-old Nanticoke Man's Car Ran Into Side Of Tractor-trailer As It Was Backing Into A Loading Dock On East Market Street