Five dead in pileup on Pa. Turnpike
At least five people were killed and scores were injured Sunday in a crash that shut down almost 100 miles of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in both directions.
Westmoreland County Coroner Ken Bacha confirmed five deaths and said at least 60 people were taken to area hospitals. An 86-mile stretch of road east of Pittsburgh was shut down, Turnpike spokesman Carl DeFebo said.
“Crash involves 2 tractor trailers, a tour bus and passenger vehicles,” DeFebo said on Twitter. “A prolonged closure likely.”
Stephen Limani, Pennsylvania State Police spokesperson, said none of the injuries was considered life-threatening, though two patients remained in critical condition.
Limani said the bus, operated by a New Jersey-based company called Z & D Tours, was traveling from Rockaway, New Jersey, to Cincinnati, Ohio. It was first struck by two tractor-trailers, then another truck and a passenger car. Photos from the scene show a mangled collision of multiple vehicles including an overturned bus, two tractor-trailers, a passenger car, and smashed FedEx and UPS trucks that left packages sprawled along the highway.
“UPS is cooperating with authorities in the investigation,” UPS statement.
FedEx did not provide any other details other than that it is cooperating with authorities.
Limani would not identify those killed or say in which vehicles they were traveling because families had not been notified.
The crash occurred at about 3:30 a.m. Sunday near mile marker 86 on the westbound side of the highway, DeFebo said. The National Transportation Safety Board said it was investigating.
Turnpike Commission spokeswoman Renee Colborn said the speed limit in said in
athe area is 70 mph. She said the roads had been treated for light snow.
“The road conditions seemed to be fine,” she said. “It’s a mountain, so there are a lot of curves.”
Angela Maynard, a tractor-trailer driver from Kentucky, told triblive.com the road was wet from the snow but not icy. She was traveling eastbound on the turnpike when she came upon the crash and called 911.
“There was no fire, just a lot of smoke,” she said. “It was horrible. I was trying to make sure everyone was OK.”
Mutual Aid EMS reported transporting 60 people to various hospitals. Twenty-five people ages 7 to 52 were being evaluated at Excela Frick Hospital in Mount Pleasant, Excela Health spokeswoman Robin Jennings told Triblive.com. Nine of the 25 patients were under 18, she said.
Eleven victims were taken to Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, including one in critical condition, a hospital spokeswoman told the website. UPMC Somerset received 18 patients: 12 adults and six under the age of 18 who were all treated and released.
The crash came two weeks after a series of chain-reaction crashes on an icy, foggy Virginia bridge injured 51 people and shut down I-64 for hours in both directions.