Paul J. Miller was driving his vehicle on northbound on Rte. 33 in Hamilton, Township, PA when a southbound tractor-trailer crossed the center grass divider and traveled head-on into Paul’s car and a northbound van. Paul died from injuries suffered in the crash. The truck driver was distracted at the time of the crash.
Born in Scranton, PA to Paul J. and Eileen Woelkers Miller, Paul was a 2006 graduate of Scranton High School and a 2008 graduate of Lackawanna College, where he earned an associate degree in criminal justice. At the time of his death, Paul was a senior at East Stroudsburg University where he was majoring in sociology with a focus in criminal justice. Paul hoped to make a difference in the lives of young people who had slipped onto the wrong side of the law and was looking forward to beginning an internship with the Lackawanna County Juvenile Probation Office.
Positive, optimistic and compassionate, Paul was always a supporter of the “underdogs”, according to his mother, Eileen Woelkers Miller. One day, Eileen and Paul were about to enter the supermarket where Paul had been working for 6 years and Paul exhanged greetings with a homeless man who was outside. When asked as to how he knew the man, Paul simply said, “Mom, you don’t need to know everything.” When Paul wasn’t looking, Mrs. Miller returned to the man, introduced herself and asked the man how he knew Paul. That’s when she discovered that Paul would buy him lunch when he was on break and that the two would eat together.
Paul was a member of St. John Neumann Parish at Holy Name of Jesus Church. A gifted athlete, Paul enjoyed baseball and played at the South Side Little League and American Legion as well as Scranton High, achieving all-star and scholastic honors. Paul possessed a great mind for all sports, which was especially evident when rooting for his beloved Green Bay Packers and N.Y. Yankees.
Paul’s mother, Eileen Woelkers Miller, has become an outspoken advocate in the fight to end distracted driving working at the local and state level in Pennsylvania and beyond. In addition, his family has established The Paul J. Miller, Jr. Memorial Scholarship for a deserving sophomore at Lackawanna College.
View the video tributes to Paul Miller below.
