Sunday 14 August 2022 10:07 PM PICTURED: Driver who plowed into community fundraiser, killing one person and ... trends now
A Pennsylvania man is facing the death penalty after state police say he intentionally plowed his car into a community fundraiser, killing one person and injuring 17 others, before bludgeoning his mother to death.
Pennsylvania State Police say Adrian Oswaldo Sura Reyes, 24, drove into a crowd of about 75 people Saturday night, as they attended a fundraiser for the families of 10 people who died in a recent house fire.
An unidentified 50 year old woman was killed in the crash, and 17 others were injured.
Authorities say Reyes then allegedly fled the scene, but was later spotted bludgeoning another woman to death in nearby Nescopeck. That woman has since been identified as Reyes' mother, Rosa Reyes, 56.
Charging documents say he crashed into the fundraiser because he was 'frustrated' with his mother following a dispute about money issues before he killed her.
Reyes was pictured being taken into custody early Sunday morning, and said 'sorry' as he was being led into a police vehicle, the Times Leader reports after allegedly confessing to bludgeoning his mother 'four or five times.'
He is now charged with two counts of homicide and is being held at the Columbia County Correctional Facility without bail.
He is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on August 29. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
Meanwhile, Geisinger Hospital has confirmed to ABC News that it was providing care for more than 15 patients involved in the attack at the fundraiser, including four who were in critical condition on Sunday.
Another three were taken to other hospitals, and had either been treated and released or were still being evaluated.
Adrian Oswaldo Sura Reyes, 24, of Nescopeck, Pennsylvania, was arrested early Sunday morning following a fatal crash at a fundraiser for the families of those who died in a house fire earlier this month
Reyes reportedly apologized as he was being led to a police vehicle by state troopers
According to charging documents obtained by the Daily Beast, Reyes admitted to police that he had bludgeoned his mother in the head 'four or five times' with a hammer.
He allegedly said he was tired of fighting with her about money and other issues and 'wanted to be done with it.'
Reyes allegedly explained that he had gotten into an argument with his mother earlier that night, and felt 'extremely frustrated' as he drove his car from his home in Nescopeck to Berwick, where she lived.
Then, as he drove past a restaurant called Intoxicology Department at around 6.15pm, he noticed the community members standing in the parking lot, circled back around and hit the gas, the charging documents allege.
The restaurant was holding a day-long event to raise money for the families of those killed in a fire earlier this month.
Just about six minutes later, police report, they received a call about a second car crash in neighboring Nescopeck, where a man was beating a woman with a hammer.
Police say they arrived on the scene and found the woman dead, and arrested the suspected killer. The vehicle in that incident matched the description of the one that had plowed through the crowd in Berwick moments earlier.
At least 13 people have been injured in Pennsylvania after a car plowed into a fundraiser event for the families of 10 people who died in a recent house fire
The crash occurred at around 6.30pm on Saturday at a restaurant in Berwick, which was hosting a day-long event to raise money for the families of those killed in the fire
The fatal house fire (1) occurred on August 5. On Saturday, a car plowed into the fundraiser for the families (2) before police say the driver attacked and killed a woman minutes later (3). The suspect was arrested at the scene of the murder (4)
Reyes had previously been arrested for another altercation with his mother on December 26, 2020, when the two got into an argument over a cellphone, the Daily Beast reports.
According to a Berwick Police Department report and court records from the time, Reyes snatched the phone from his mother's hand and hit her in the face with it.
He pleaded
