Citations filed in head-on crash that injured boy, 8
Sep. 26—A Scranton woman whose son was severely injured Sunday in a head-on collision will be cited for driving against oncoming traffic in the moments before the crash, Dickson City police said Tuesday.
The news that Shahadat Iman Peaten faced several citations came as her son, Kason Waller, 8, continued to improve at Geisinger Community Medical Center in Danville.
Kason was rushed to emergency surgery for head injuries suffered Sunday in a collision with another car on Business Route 6 in Dickson City. The Scranton boy was on his way home from Carbondale, where he played in a youth football game.
Kason, known as "K.J." to his North Scranton Vikings teammates, appeared in good spirits as he left the hospital's intensive care unit for a regular hospital room, Coach Tish Lavelle said. Lavelle spoke with Kason during a FaceTime call Tuesday.
"The worst part is over," she told Kason. "You just got to lay there and get better."
The parents of his teammates are designing lawn signs, bumper stickers and stickers in support of Kason, Lavelle said.
Police Chief William Bilinski said Tuesday the crash investigation revealed the child's mother, Peaten, drove the wrong way near Wegmans by entering a turning lane for oncoming traffic.
The 8-year-old and his 3-year-old sibling were not in car seats or belted to their seats, police said. The 3-year-old reportedly had minor injures, though no further information was available.
Peaten reportedly did not know the area well and followed her cellphone's GPS, Bilinski said. Suddenly, she found herself striking another vehicle.
Trevor Murdter, a passenger in the car she struck, also had reported minor injuries, police said. Tina Torre, a Jefferson Twp. woman who had been driving Murdter, was not injured.
Two other vehicles, driven by Brigit Andrewsh, of West Virginia, and Kristen Sutton, of Olyphant, also collided as a result of the initial crash. They were not injured.
A witness provided police with dashboard camera footage that showed Peaten's car driving the wrong way, Bilinski said.
Patrolman Matthew Gallagher cited Peaten for careless driving, seat-belt violations and for driving in the wrong lane.
Gallagher also cited Torre for driving an uninspected vehicle with a suspended registration.
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