2 dead in crash that burned down a home in Montco

Two people in a van were killed this morning when their vehicle veered off the road into a parked car and then crashed into a home in Upper Moreland Township, sparking a fire that turned the building into a charred skeleton.

The five occupants of the home at 3150 Byberry Road, Hatboro, all got out safely, Upper Moreland Police Chief Tom Nestel said. The house, he said, was "a total loss."

Nestel said the two people in the car were burned so badly that police and the Montgomery County coroner were having trouble determining their identities.

"The coroner and the detectives are still out there," he said shortly after 10:30 a.m. "As of the last contact, they still did not know who they are."

A spokesperson for the Montgomery County coroner's office said the identities likely would not be known for at least 24 hours.

The van also suffered so much damage that authorities didn't immediately know its make and model.

Police received a call at 1:44 a.m. Tuesday to respond to the 3100 block of Byberry Road just east of Warminster Road. At that point in the roadway, there is a "not very sharp" curve, Nestel said.

Nestel said that despite that, the car, which was westbound on Byberry, failed to negotiate the curve and crossed the lawn. Then it ricocheted off a car parked in front of the house, and from there crashed into the house itself, he said.

The resulting fire was so hot that it singed nearby trees and caused siding on the house next door to melt.

Skid marks from a vehicle could be seen veering off Byberry Road and slicing across a large sideyard towards the house, a two-story home with a wraparound porch. All that was left of the structure was the charred wooden frame.

The remnants of a van were still visible at the scene Tuesday. The vehicle it struck had been towed away by mid-day.

A man who described himself as a family friend said James J. Cummins and his wife, Jill, live there. The man would not name the three children, but said all were safe and staying with family.

Cummins, 38, was negotiating with insurance adjusters Tuesday and did not speak to reporters. He did not return a call to his cellphone.

Neighbor Lee Moffitt and his son, Brandon, 8, viewed the wreckage with other passersby.

"It's absolutely terrible, but thank God they all got out," Lee Moffitt said. Brandon Moffitt said he knew one of the Cummins boys, Liam, because both attend Upper Moreland Intermediate School, several blocks away.

Byberry Road between Warminster and Orangemans Roads was closed off as investigators processed the accident scene earlier Tuesday, but it was reopened to traffic by noon.