Berks coroner identifies driver killed in Route 183 crash

A 28-year-old Reading man was the driver killed in a head-on collision on Route 183 near Bernville on Thursday, the Berks County coroner’s office said Friday.

Daniel R. Schneider was pronounced dead at 4:54 a.m. Thursday by Deputy Coroner Jonn Hollenbach. He died of numerous injuries and the death was ruled an accident, officials said.

The accident occurred in the 6400 block of Bernville Road (Route 183), near the Union Canal Paddle Launch on Blue Marsh Lake in Penn Township.

The road was closed for almost five hours.

The police officers at Reading station described it as follows:

Schneider’s southbound car crossed the solid yellow lines and crossed into the oncoming lane, colliding with an oncoming SUV.

After the impact, the car overturned onto its passenger side, came to a stop in a ditch on the side of the road heading north and caught fire.

The SUV landed on the northbound shoulder parallel to the car. Its driver, Christo Cespedes Guzman, 25, of Reading, suffered injuries of undetermined extent.

After treatment at the scene, he was transported to Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center in Bern Township where he underwent surgery. Information on his condition was not available.

Schneider was the 18th person killed in a car crash on Berks streets this year.