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Clarence Briggs,
55, of Newville, Pennsylvania, a 26-year veteran policeman who
retired in 2012, shot and killed toll booth worker Danny Crouse,
55, and Ron Heist, 72, a contracted security guard during the
robbery, officials told a news conference.
Heist, a retired policeman from York, Pennsylvania was providing
security for cash collections shortly before 7 a.m. ET (1100
GMT), when Briggs confronted the two and shot them at the Fort
Littleton toll booth, about 65 miles (105 km) west of the state
capital of Harrisburg.
State troopers arrived minutes later and fatally shot Briggs as
he was unloading money from a fare collection vehicle he had
stolen into a parked car, authorities said.
"On behalf of my fellow Turnpike commissioners and everybody in
the PA Turnpike family, we are all deeply saddened by this
horrific tragedy,” Turnpike Commission Chairman Sean Logan said
in a statement.
Cash is accepted at most Pennsylvania toll booths, but a growing
number are being converted to accept only payment through
electronic E-Z Pass system, according to the Turnpike
Commission.
State police and other security personnel are charged with
patrolling the turnpike system, which runs across the southern
part of the state and north from the Philadelphia area to
Scranton, according to the commission's website.
(Reporting by Marcus E. Howard; Additional reporting by David
DeKok in Harrisburg, Pa.; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Alan
Crosby)
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