Family still in critical condition after crash

Three people remained in critical condition Wednesday as investigators reviewed the Tuesday wreck on the Liberty Bridge.

The hospitalized couple and their infant were among five people in the three-vehicle collision, according to Pittsburgh public safety officials. They said Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC was treating the baby and his parents, in their 30s, were at UPMC Mercy.

Another motorist drove a sport utility vehicle in the wrong lane near the Downtown end of the bridge, city police said. They were examining Wednesday the chain of events, including why the wayward driver was in the wrong place, according to public safety spokeswoman Emily Schaffer.

Many details were still under investigation.

“We had a lot of hands on deck and tried to alleviate [traffic] as much as possible,” Ms. Schaffer said.

Still, she said, circumstances made delays “kind of inevitable.” Authorities shut the bridge over the Monongahela River for more than three hours after the midafternoon crash, leading to dense traffic tie-ups across the Downtown area.

The rush-hour exodus and construction on usual detour routes contributed to the jams, Ms. Schaffer said. An evening Pittsburgh Penguins game at PPG Paints Arena drew thousands into town around the same time. Some drivers reported flashes of road rage as cars backed up for miles.

Ms. Schaffer couldn’t address specific questions about traffic signaling efforts, but city police did not tally overtime from handling the crash, she said.

“Given the circumstances, the response that we had in place was what we could do at the time,” Ms. Schaffer said, later adding: “Something like this — you can’t predict exactly when and where it’s going to happen. You have to go with the resources you have at that point.”

About 55,000 vehicles per day use the Liberty Bridge, which is undergoing an $80 million rehabilitation. The state Department of Transportation is overseeing the work, expected to bring traffic restrictions this year.

A contractor had already set up — and temporarily covered — detour signs to guide motorists during such periods. The group was dispatched to uncover those signs Tuesday “when we realized there was a serious crash,” said PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan. He said traffic impeded workers from revealing all the signs.

But “they did their best to uncover every sign they could,” Mr. Cowan said. He said PennDOT followed protocols, with the press office urging motorists to find other routes.

The wrong-lane driver was upgraded to good condition Tuesday at UPMC Presbyterian, according to police. The third driver in the crash declined medical attention, they said. Authorities have not released the drivers’ names.