A head-on crash on a busy Dauphin County highway left one driver dead and another miraculously unharmed late Sunday afternoon. The collision sparked a fierce car fire that shut down Route 39 for nearly four hours during the evening commute.
The wreck occurred at approximately 4:52 p.m. along the 500 block of South Hershey Road in West Hanover Township. Traffic was moving steadily when a southbound Lexus sedan crossed the center line near Devonshire Heights Road.

The Lexus drifted into the northbound lane, driving directly into the path of an oncoming Jeep Cherokee. The head-on collision crushed the front ends of both vehicles, and within moments, flames broke out across the engine compartments.
The driver of the Jeep Cherokee managed to get out of the vehicle safely before the fire spread. Police reported that the Jeep driver suffered no injuries in the wreck, marking a stark contrast to the destruction left on the pavement.
The Lexus driver, identified as 28-year-old Justin Patterson of Harrisburg, became trapped inside his burning sedan. Firefighters arrived quickly, spraying down the flames before cutting Patterson out of the crushed vehicle.
Patterson could not be saved and was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical personnel. Local authorities notified his next of kin later Sunday evening as crash investigators began documenting the physical evidence left on Route 39.
Pennsylvania State Police troopers kept both directions of Route 39 closed until PennDOT cleared the scene around 8:30 p.m. Investigators are still working to determine why Patterson’s car crossed the double-yellow line into oncoming traffic.






