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RFH 2010, News

Updated: Dale Soderberg Dies in Crash

Thu, Oct 07, 2010

Dale L. Soderberg, 81, of Hamilton, died in a head-on collision near Munnsville Thursday.

Dale L. Soderberg, 81 of Hamilton, died Thursday afternoon in a head-on collision on Rte. 46 near Munnsville. He was a former HCS teacher and prolific author.

Troopers from the Oneida and Morrisville posts continue investigating the two-car collision that occurred about 4:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon on State Route 46 near Pratts Road in the Town of Stockbridge.  A statement from the Troopers says:

"A 2001 Ford Windstar operated by Amanda S. Curtis, age 25, of Oneida was northbound on Route 46 when Curtis failed to observe that a northbound pickup truck travelling in front of her vehicle had stopped and was preparing to turn left into a private driveway.  Curtis swerved left to avoid striking the pickup truck and entered the southbound lane of Route 46, where her vehicle collided nearly head-on with a southbound 2010 Mercury Milan operated" by Soderberg. 

The Troopers' statement continued:

"Both vehicles suffered extensive damage in the crash and Soderberg was pronounced deceased at the scene.  Amanda Curtis was extricated from her vehicle by Munnsville Fire Department personnel and transported by Vineall Ambulance to Upstate Hospital in Syracuse with leg and pelvic fractures and a chest injury while a passenger Brandon Curtis, age 24, of Munnsville was also transported by Vineall Ambulance to Upstate with back, chest and hand pain.  Personnel from the Madison County Sheriff's Department and the Morrisville Fire Department also assisted at the scene. 

"The investigation is continuing and charges are pending."

This is author's biography from Amazon:

"Dale Soderberg majored in English at Gettysburg College and in Systematic Theology at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. While in college he was encouraged to begin creative writing by his professors; while in seminary he developed a deep love for and interest in the Middle East, especially those areas related to the Bible.

"Over the years he has originated, organized, and directed tours to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. During two visits to Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan just prior to the Six Day War, his interest in the area and the diverging cultures existing side-by-side ballooned. This was in part because he had a couple of heart-stopping experiences: having his car strip-searched for weapons by Syrian police, and hearing rifle shots in Jerusalem while he and his companions were exposed next to 'no-man's land'. The Arab maps which identified Israel as 'the occupied area' coupled with the machine gun trained upon him and the other members of his tour groups when they crossed into Israel at Jerusalem's Mandlebaum Gate intensified his strong sense of the bitter feelings which ultimately led to the 1967 War.

"He returned home determined to chronicle as much of what he had experienced as he could. The result is Sirocco, a fictional account of how the war was won so quickly by Israel. Along with his writing, the consequence of his many other creative activities over the years has brought him inclusion in the Marquis editions of Who's Who in the East, American Education, the World, and America.

"He and his wife, Marjorie, live in Hamilton, New York where the two have close ties with Colgate University."

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