N.J. American Idol Hopeful, Returning From Auditions, Killed in I-95 Crash
Natasha Bellott via Twitter. Crash site via PennDOT
A one-car crash on I-95 in Bucks County last night killed one and injured five others.
The driver and five passengers were traveling north on 95 from Philadelphia. The driver lost control of her vehicle while using the shoulder to pass a car in the right lane, a report from Pennsylvania State Police says. The car, a 2003 silver Jeep Liberty, veered over both northbound lanes and tumbled several times before stopping in the center median.
The incident occurred at 6:42 p.m. around mile 46 and caused minor traffic delays between the exits for Newtown-Yardley Road (PA 332) and Route 1.
Natasha Bellott — who had turned 20 in June, the Bucks County Courier Times reports — was pronounced dead at nearby Saint Mary’s Medical Center, where she was brought with another victim — 19-year-old Leslie McCoy — who suffered a head injury and fractured ribs, the police report says.
Bellott, from Bloomfield, N.J., and the other passengers, had just attended auditions for the TV show American Idol at Temple University’s Liacouras Center, the Courier Times reports. Bellott was said to still be carrying an American Idol ticket and her birth certificate, which suggests at the very least that it was her intention to audition.
The other three passengers — identified as Carl Delpolito (24), Jacob Gorski (18) and an unknown 16-year-old — and the driver — an unidentified 17-year-old — were brought by ambulance to Capital Health in Trenton with non-life-threatening injuries, the police report says. All are from various towns in New Jersey.
The Courier Times says police confirmed that several of the passengers had not buckled their seat belts. According to the police report, witnesses said the car was traveling at high speeds, and that three of the six occupants were determined to have been ejected from the car.
Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the accident, and ask anyone who witnessed or who has information on the crash to call the State Police Trevose barracks at 215-942-3900.
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