DANVILLE - The Geisinger Medical Center employee killed late Friday afternoon in the employee parking lot was shot multiple times, according to the Montour County Coroner.
Vikki Wetzel, 49, of Berwick, was killed shortly after 5 p.m. as she was returning to her car following her shift in the laboratory medicine department, Coroner Scott Lynn said Saturday. Her death was immediate, he said.
The suspected shooter left the scene just outside Danville in a Ford Edge, surveillance video showed, Lynn said.
A fatal accident on Route 42 north of Aristes about 45 minutes later is related to the shooting, Columbia County Coroner Jeremy Reese said. He identified the victim as David Morgan, 48, of Mount Carmel, but did not state how he was related to the Geisinger shooting.
The accident victim suffered a gunshot wound that Reese said appears to have occurred prior to the single-vehicle crash.
State police have not released details on the accident other than Morgan was the lone occupant. The coroner said he had been ejected and suffered burns when the vehicle caught fire.
According to reports the vehicle left the highway and struck trees. An autopsy will be scheduled to determine the cause of death, Reese said.
The investigation into the two deaths is being conducted by state police along with the coroners. State police had said after the hospital shooting they believed it was an isolated incident and there was no threat to the public.
Wetzel worked for Geisinger for more than 21 years, most recently as part of the laboratory medicine team, a medical center spokesperson said.
Mental health support services are being provided to her co-workers throughout the weekend, she said.
The hospital, which had been locked down for several hours Friday evening, is back to normal operations, she said.
The parking lot where the shooting occurred is the farthest from the main entrance.