Congressional candidate Tom Marino hospitalized after crash in Towanda

BY BORYS KRAWCZENIUK (TIMES-SHAMROCK WRITER)

Published: June 3, 2010

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Review Photo/JAMES LOEWENSTEIN Congressional candidate Tom Marino was driving the Chevrolet pickup truck, at right, when it was struck head on Tuesday night by a Pontiac Grand Prix, at left.

TOWANDA - Republican congressional candidate Tom Marino was transported to a local hospital after his pickup truck was struck Tuesday night by a car that crossed the center line in Towanda Township, state police at Towanda said.

Police said they will charge the other driver, Michelle J. Merschbach, 23, of Towanda, with driving under the influence of alcohol.

Marino, 57, a former U.S. attorney who lives in Lycoming Township in Lycoming County, was admitted to Memorial Hospital in Towanda after the accident and is expected to be released today, according to his campaign manager, David M. Weber.

He suffered no broken bones or major injuries, but complained of dizziness after the accident and was kept in the hospital for observation, said Marino's wife, Edie.

"He's doing well," Edie Marino said. "He's conscious and talking."

Weber said Tom Marino feels sore.

"He's really stiff. He's a black-and-blue mess," Weber said. "But he's resting comfortably."

Weber said Tom Marino had just left a reorganization meeting of the Bradford County Republican Party at about 9 p.m. at AJ's Family Restaurant in Wysox Township. Tom Marino had not been drinking, he said.

"Tom hasn't had a drop of alcohol in about 40 years," Weber said.

Marino also avoids alcohol because he lost a kidney to cancer a few years ago, he said.

State police said the accident happened on South Main Street in Towanda Township.

State police said Merschbach was headed north and Tom Marino was driving south. Her 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix veered into Tom Marino's lane and struck his 2002 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck head on, police said.

State police said that Tom Marino and Merschbach were both wearing seat belts.

"He was driving the speed limit," Edie Marino said.

The pickup truck spun 45 degrees counterclockwise before coming to rest. The crash stopped the car at the impact point, police said.

Tom Marino will probably return to the campaign trail by the end of the week, Weber said.

At the time of the crash, Marino had been alone in the pickup truck, according to Jason Fitzgerald, a spokesman for the Marino campaign.

Merschbach was also taken to Memorial Hospital in Towanda for treatment, but a hospital registration clerk said Wednesday she was not a patient. No home phone listing for her could be located.

In the May 18 primary election, Tom Marino defeated Snyder County Commissioner Malcolm L. Derk and Lehman Township business consultant David Madeira to earn the Republican nomination to the 10th Congressional District seat. He faces incumbent Democratic Rep. Chris Carney.

Marino was listed in stable condition at the hospital on Wednesday, hospital spokesman Jeff Russell said.

Wilkes University political scientist Tom Baldino said he expects the race between Marino and Carney to be close, as Marino has name recognition and Republicans hold an advantage in voter registration across the district.

The Associated Press and Daily Review staff writer James Loewenstein contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com

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