Milford officer injured in crash

Westfall — A report of a pick-up truck running over garbage cans in Milford led to an accident involving a Milford Borough police vehicle and the Village Diner in Westfall, early Tuesday morning. Milford Officer Harold Hosking was responding to the call, returning from Westfall Township at around 1 a.m. when the accident occurred, according to Milford Police Chief Gary Williams. Williams said he did not know the exact cause of the accident, which is being investigated by the Pennsylvania State Police. The investigating trooper was not available for comment Wednesday. Damage at the scene suggests that the vehicle crossed the oncoming lane of traffic and entered the diner’s parking lot, striking a vehicle in the lot before colliding with the building, continuing up the front steps, and finally flipping over onto the diner’s cement flower pot. No other vehicles were involved in the accident, and the diner was closed at the time. Hosking suffered a broken femur among other injuries and was medivaced to an unnamed hospital from Wal-Mart’s parking lot. According to police records, Hosking had been on duty for fourteen hours at the time of the accident. Eastern Pike Police Chief Chad Stewart confirmed the officer’s being in Westfall Township prior to the accident and said that Hosking had responded to a report of a burglary at a local business. Stewart said the officer’s presence was not requested, but it was not out of the ordinary for the police departments “to back each other up.” Eastern Pike Police received the call of the accident at 1:04 a.m. Dimitrios Pagelos, nine-year owner of the Village Diner, said he received a call from the police at 3 a.m., alerting him to the accident and was shocked at the news. Arriving on the scene, he was told by emergency personnel that the officer was cut off while driving and lost control of his vehicle, a report that could not be confirmed by any responding department. Pagelos said his son called the police department on the following day to secure insurance information and check on the officer’s condition. He said the officer on the phone would not comment about the injured officer and no apology was offered for the damages. “If you make a mistake, you make a mistake. You have to pick yourself up afterwards. I’m waiting for an apology, but I am not going to ask for one,” he said. Williams commented that the department tried unsuccessfully to contact Pagelos on Wednesday afternoon to do so. Pagelos said he estimated the damage at around $30,000. He added that the Westfall building inspector permitted the Diner to reopen on Thursday. No details were available as to the officer’s condition, which Chief Williams described as “good” on Wednesday.