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2 Pennsylvanians among the 5 people killed in Pennsylvania Turnpike crash | TribLIVE.com
Westmoreland

2 Pennsylvanians among the 5 people killed in Pennsylvania Turnpike crash

Deb Erdley
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KDKA-TV via AP
The scene of a Pennsylvania Turnpike crash on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020, where five people were killed and dozens were injured.

Two of the five people killed in Sunday’s deadly Pennsylvania Turnpike crash in Westmoreland County were from Pennsylvania.

Dennis Kehler, 48, of Lebanon, a driver for UPS for 28 years, leaves behind his wife, Kathleen, a daughter and two stepchildren.

“He was one of the most generous men I’ve ever known. His death has hit me as hard as my own father’s,” said Kehler’s brother-in-law, Joel Hainley.

Kehler was an outdoorsman and car buff, Hainley said.

He said Kehler traveled the turnpike in the past for UPS and was close friends with Daniel Kepner, his partner on long-haul trips.

The two men left the UPS operations center in Harrisburg and were headed to Kentucky, Hainley said.

Kepner, 53, of Lewistown, Mifflin County, also died in the crash. UPS said Kepner was with the company for five years.

“Our drivers will be missed and our thoughts and prayers go out to their families,” UPS said in a statement.

Other victim’s in the crash Sunday were passengers on a tour bus headed from New York to Cincinnati.

They were identified as:

  • Shuang Qing Feng, 58, of Flushing, N.Y., who was driving the bus
  • Eileen Zelis Aria, 35, of Bronx, N.Y.
  • Jaremy Vazquez, 9, of Brooklyn, N.Y.

Deb Erdley is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Deb at derdley@triblive.com.

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