Pocono News Section

Pennsylvania Senator Dies in Crash

Pennsylvania Senator Dies in Crash - Saturday, October 18, 2008 at 3:17PM EST

Saturday, Oct 18, 2008 @ 03:17pm EST
Seven-term state Sen. James J. Rhoades died Saturday from injuries he sustained a day after the car he was driving collided head-on with a truck.

Rhoades had served in the state Senate since 1981 and was seeking an eighth four-year term.

Rhoades, 66, and his wife were headed to an official event Friday evening in Monroe County, an aide said. The long time Republican senator from Schuylkill County represented northeastern Pennsylvania's coal country and was the longtime chairman of the Senate Education Committee.

.According to police, the accident happened around 7:30 p. m. Friday near Brodheadsville. Rhoades was traveling north on Route 209 and his Cadillac collided with a Chevrolet truck traveling the other way. After the initial crash, Rhoades' car then struck a third vehicle that had pulled onto the shoulder.

Rhoades was going to a ceremony where he was to be thanked by the Pleasant Valley School District for raising state money for the district, said an aide, Champ Holman.

Holman said a funeral was being planned and that Rhoades' family did not want any further details released. Rhoades and his wife, Mary, were taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown. Senate aides said Rhoades wife's condition was not believed to be life threatening.

He also served as a member of the Appropriations, Transportation, Law and Justice, and Environmental Resources and Energy committees. His district covers Schuylkill County and parts of Berks, Monroe, Northampton, Lehigh and Carbon counties