`super Conference' Needs Adjustments To Serve All Teams 
When The Wyoming Valley West Swimming Team Destroys Scranton Prep, There Is No 
Blood In The Water.

4th Suit Filed Against City's `impact' Team

By BOBBI DEMPSEY; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Sunday, January 18, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3 





SUGARLOAF TWP.- A police official fears the most recent fatality on a
dangerous road here won't be the last. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Heidi Zimmerman, 22, of the Drums section of Butler Township, was killed
Jan. 11 when her car rolled into a creek bed off Tomhicken Road. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "It's the sixth vehicle (fatality) I remember there since 1982," said
Sugarloaf Township Police Sgt. Douglas Jordan. "It's very dangerous. It has a
higher vehicular (fatality) rate than State Route 93, which is the major
connection (to this part of the valley)." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Zimmerman's crash was reported to township police at about 12:25 a.m. She
had been traveling from Butler Drive, Drums, eastbound toward Weston Road. At
a curve bending left, she drove straight. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Zimmerman's car hit an embankment and pole, then nosedived into the creek
bed and rolled over. Jordan believes Zimmerman might have been traveling too
fast for road conditions. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The speed limit is 35. We have constant complaints from Tomhicken Road
(residents) about speed," he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Warning signs are posted, but Jordan would like to see more added. The
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, which is responsible for
maintaining this state road, could not be reached for comment about Jordan's
concerns. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Jordan has been called to this site more times than he wants to remember. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He recalls a fatal crash in 1987 about 100 yards from Zimmerman's accident
site, and another on the opposite side of road during a snowstorm a few years
ago. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He can pinpoint a mile stretch of road as being extremely hazardous- a half
mile in each direction from the village of Tomhicken. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A guardrail was put up about nine years ago after a station wagon tumbled
off the road. "Now I have to get them to extend it," he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The guardrail begins about half-way over the creek and extends 30 to 40
feet, said Jordan, although he stressed a longer guard rail probably would not
have prevented last week's fatality. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Zimmerman went off the road about 300 feet before the creek." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Township police patrol the area as o

Dangerous Roadway A Concern Sugarloaf Township Police Officer Says Recent Fatality Adds To His Fears About Stretch Of Tomhicken Road