Catholic sisters involved in North East Township crash that caused one's death

Tim Hahn, Erie Times-News
Updated ·2 min read
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An Erie man charged with having inappropriate sexual contact with a boy at Harborcreek Youth Services on Jan. 3 is now accused by the Pennsylvania State Police of sexually assaulting another boy at the Harborcreek Township facility.

A two-vehicle crash in North East Township on Sunday morning caused the death of a religious sister in the Catholic church and injured three other sisters.

Authorities have identified the victim of the crash as Arlene Semesky, 79, of Webster, New York. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:22 a.m. Sunday following the crash, which was reported on Sunday at 9:53 a.m. at the intersection of Gay and East Lake Roads, the Pennsylvania State Police reported.

More: State police probe 2-vehicle crash that killed woman, injured others in North East Township

Troopers said Semesky was a passenger in a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox that was traveling south on Gay Road. The vehicle stopped at the stop sign at the intersection of East Lake Road, which is Route 5, but then traveled through the intersection and was struck by a 2014 Dodge Ram that was traveling west on East Lake Road, state police in Erie reported.

The Catholic Courier in Rochester, New York, reported on its website that Semesky was a Rochester Sister of Mercy who was to celebrate her 60th jubilee in September. The driver of the Chevrolet, identified by state police and the Catholic Courier report as Joanne Deck, 75, of Webster, suffered major injuries and was flown by helicopter to UPMC Hamot. Two other passengers in the vehicle were taken to UPMC Hamot by ambulance for treatment of injuries, according to troopers.

The four occupants of the Dodge Ram are residents of Broadway, Virginia, according to state police. The 44-year-old male driver and a 45-year-old male passenger were not taken to the hospital but accompanied two boys in the vehicle, ages 6 and 9, to UPMC Hamot for treatment of possible minor injuries, state police reported.

Semesky, Deck, and the other two passengers in the Chevrolet are all Sisters of Mercy, according to the Catholic Courier report. Semesky, Deck and one of the passengers live at the St. Rita Parish Convent in Webster, according to the report, and the other passenger lives in Nebraska and was residing in Webster during her novitiate, a period of training before taking her vows.

Semesky, Deck and one of the passengers had gone to Erie over the weekend to visit the other passenger, who was on retreat, and the four were on their way to Mass Sunday morning when the accident occurred, according to the Catholic Courier report.

State police are continuing to investigate Sunday's crash.

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Catholic sister dies in 2-vehicle crash at North East, PA intersection