A two-vehicle wreck in Leacock Township Sunday night killed two teen-age brothers and injured five other young people.

Some of the victims are from the same Nickel Mines community where five Amish school girls were shot and killed in 2006.

The accident Sunday occurred at 7 p.m. in the 4100 block of Old Philadelphia Pike, east of New Holland Road.

Mahlon Lapp, 18, was pronounced dead at the scene by a Lancaster County coroner. His brother Mervin Lapp, 19, was pronounced dead on the way to Lancaster General Hospital via EMS ambulance.

The brothers had resided at 313 Wolf Rock Road, Paradise, according to their grandfather, who asked not to be identified.

Stephen Beiler Jr., 20, and Amos Beiler, 20, were flown to Reading Hospital for treatment. A hospital spokeswoman said they were in critical condition this morning.

Raymond Stoltzfus, 20, was in critical condition, Miriam Lantz, 19, was in serious condition, and Stephen Lee Beiler, 19, was in fair condition at LGH this morning, according to a hospital spokesman.

While addresses were not available for the injured, all are from Lancaster County, investigators said.

Early reports said three people had died in the crash, but state police later confirmed that two died.

Stephen Lee Beiler was driving one of the two crew cab pick-up trucks in the accident. His passengers were Stephen Beiler Jr., Mervin Lapp, Mahlon Lapp and Miriam Lantz, according to a police report.

Amos Beiler was driving the other truck, and Raymond Stoltzfus was his passenger.

The crash took place in the area of 4138 Old Philadelphia Pike, according to police.

Stephen Lee Beiler was traveling west on Route 340 when he lost control and traveled into the westbound lane, into the path of the other truck, the police report said.

The front end of Amos Beiler's truck struck the passenger side of Stephen Lee Beiler's truck. The impact caused both cars to rest in the westbound berm of Route 340, according to the report.

Route 340 was wet due to the rain Sunday evening, but it was not raining when the accident occurred, the report said.

State police were on the scene still investigating the wreck three and a half hours after it occurred.

The body of a passenger in one pickup truck was visible an hour after the wreck from the lawn of the Country Knives shop, where emergency personnel kept about 50 bystanders, mostly Amish, away from the scene.

The deputy coroner arrived shortly after 8 p.m.

Lancaster County Emergency Management Agency in a news release said two helicopters were involved in transporting the injured.

Police arrived on the scene to find six people trapped inside the wreckage, county EMA said. They closed the 4100 block of Old Philadelphia Pike.

Jason Stoltzfus, 26, of Smoketown said he was traveling when he came upon the wreck.

About six people, including Stoltzfus, used fire extinguishers to squelch smoke coming from the hoods of the trucks and helped victims until emergency responders arrived, Stoltzfus said.

Stephen Lee Beiler and his passengers were headed to a supper at White Horse, according to Mervin and Mahlon Lapp's grandfather.

"They were going to play some volleyball and sing hymns," he said, "but that didn't happen."

The Lapp brothers were the oldest of six children of Melvin and Esther Lapp, 313 Wolf Rock Road.

They had attended the Amish school at Wolf Rock and both worked for Amish employers who make siding.

Mervin Lapp also worked with his father tending a market stand in Germantown, Md.

Members of the family were at the home this morning preparing for a viewing, which had not yet been scheduled, and a Wednesday funeral.

Furman Funeral Home in Leola is in charge of the arrangements.

State police did not provide additional information on the wreck this morning.

All seven victims in the wreck were Amish, according to the Lapps' grandfather.

The Lapp brothers live across a field from the site of the Amish school shooting. They will be buried in the same cemetery as those victims, according to a relative, Dan Esh of Georgetown.

The family was "all broken up" this morning, he said. "It's a shock to the community.

(Staff writer Carla Di Fonzo contributed to this report).


Staff writer Ryan Robinson can be reached at rrobinson@LNPnews.com or 481-6032.