Michael Burkhardt and Tashandra Burton, both 20, killed; 4 people injured in 2-car crash on Route 6/11 in La Plume, Pennsylvania

Modified Date: 
Tue, 01/26/2016 - 9:18pm
Accident Date: 
Monday, January 25, 2016

2 college students killed in eastern Pennsylvania crash

State police in Lackawanna County say the crash happened at about 9:40 a.m. Keystone spokesman Francis Calpin said the college is a "close-knit family community" and the tragedy "saddens us deeply." Officials said the victims were freshmen at Keystone College, and four other students were injured. Coroner Timothy Rowland said 20-year-old Michael Burkhardt of Waymart and 20-year-old Tashandra Burton of Wilkes-Barre were pronounced dead at Geisinger Community Medical Center. He said grief counseling will be available.

Campus in Shock After Death of Students in Crash

"Everybody's really upset," said freshman Jenn Ocana. "You can feel that everyone's upset." Burkhardt was better known as Jake and was studying wildlife biology. "Jake was loved around campus," Ocana said. "He would talk to anybody, very easy to talk to, put a smile on anybody's face." Burton was homecoming queen at Meyers High School. Two of her passengers were listed in critical condition at Geisinger-Community Medical Center. "We're a small college, so everybody knows everybody. That's what makes this so particularly tragic," said Keystone official Fran Calpin.

Meyers 2014-15 homecoming queen died in Monday night wreck

The 2015 homecoming queen of Meyers High School was one of the two Keystone College students killed Monday night in a two-car crash that injured four others. Tashandra Burton, 19, was driving a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt with four college classmates as passengers when she lost control on U.S. routes 6 and 11 around 9:40 p.m., crossed a grassy median and collided with another car, state police at Dunmore said. Burton and front seat passenger, Michael Burkhardt, 19, of Waymart, were transported to Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton, where they were later pronounced dead. The three other passengers --  including Burton’s roommate, Allison Berman, 18, a fellow Meyers graduate -- were injured in the wreck. The driver of the other car, Joshua Zilla, 20, of Dunmore, also attended Keystone College, officials said.
Type: Car Accident
People Involved: 
Michael Burkhardt
Tashandra Burton
Allison Berman
Joshua Zilla
Roadway: 
Route 6/11

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