FISHING CREEK TOWNSHIP, PA — A 17-year-old was killed in a crash Wednesday morning in Fishing Creek Township, near Benton.
State Police say he was driving south on SR 487 near Zion Church Road around 7:45am when his vehicle veered off the road, hit a guide rail, and then struck a tree.
The Columbia County Coroner's Office identified the victim as Brandon Kocher of Stillwater. According to the coroner's office, Kocher was driving to school at the time of the crash. He died at the scene.
According to a statement from the Columbia Montour Area Vocational Technical School, Kocher was a student in the carpentry program as well as a member of the basketball team.
CMAVTS is working with the Benton School District and says a crisis response team has been deployed to provide counseling services.
The coroner's office said that drug or alcohol use is not suspected. The State Police release notes that speed may have played a role in the crash.