Five-vehicle crash, truck fire close 78 overnight
Driver sent to hospital for burn injuries
A five-vehicle accident, involving two tractor trailer trucks that caught fire, closed eastbound Interstate 78 in Greenwich Township on Friday, May 19. One of the eastbound lanes opened Saturday morning around 9:30 a.m. and later Saturday both lanes were open.
State Police Hamburg report that a collision occurred east on I-78 approaching mile marker 38.1, Greenwich Township at about 5:24 p.m.
A Freightliner was in the right lane followed by a Mack truck and behind that was a commercial tractor trailer truck.
A commercial tractor trailer
truck was in the left lane along side the Mack truck and was being followed by a Mercedes SDN.
Traffic on I-78 eastbound suddenly began to slow in both lanes at mile marker 38.1, Greenwich Township.
The vehicles slowed for the backed up traffic but the commercial tractor trailer truck behind the Mack truck in the right lane failed to slow down in time and collided with the left side of the Mercedes and upon impact the tractor portion of the commercial truck immediately burst into flames and became engulfed in fire. The fire spread to the trailers of the Mack truck and the other commercial truck.
Also upon impact, the Mercedes was pushed into the rear of the commercial tractor trailer truck in the left lane. The Mack truck was pushed into the rear of the Freightliner in the right lane.
All lanes of I-78 east at mile marker 38.1 was shut down at the collision scene.
The driver of the commercial truck in the rear right lane was transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital for burn injuries.
The driver of the Mercedes and a passenger sustained minor injuries.
State Police report that the collision investigation is ongoing.
Firefighters from nine Berks and Lehigh fire companies were on scene from Virginville, Kutztown, Kempton, Shoemakersville, Shartlesville, Hamburg, Weisenberg, New Tripoli and Woodlawn.
On scene were also Hamburg EMS, Kutztown Ambulance, Northeastern Berks EMS, and Macungie Ambulance.