Schuylkill driver falls asleep on I-80

A Schuylkill County driver and his passenger were injured after he fell asleep at the wheel of his 2011 Chevrolet Malibu and crashed along Interstate 80 in Butler Township, Luzerne County.

State police at Hazleton said Paul Hancher, 79, of Frackville, was driving westbound at 4:25 p.m. Sunday when he fell asleep. The car traveled off the road and onto a grassy area where it landed in a ditch, rolling over multiple times before coming to rest.

Hancher and his passenger, Irene Plaza, 85, also of Frackville, were injured and taken to the Lehigh Valley Hospital-Hazleton Campus. Troopers cited Hancher for careless driving.