5 DEAD, 60 HOSPITALIZED IN PENNSYLVANIA CRASH
Five people were killed and about 60 were injured on the Pennsylvania Turnpike early Sunday morning, when a loaded bus went out of control on a hill and rolled over, setting off a chain reaction that involved three tractor-trailers and a passenger car.
The injured victims, ranging from 7 to 67 years old, are all expected to survive, though two patients remain in critical condition, authorities and hospital officials said Sunday afternoon. The crash, which happened at 3:40 a.m. on a mountainous and rural stretch of the interstate about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh, shut down the highway in both directions before it reopened Sunday evening.
The tour bus was traveling from Rockaway, N.J., to Cincinnati, Ohio.
At least five people were killed and 60 more were hospitalized in an early Sunday morning crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike that snarled two tractor-trailers, a charter bus and a passenger vehicle, transportation officials said.
The crash occurred in the turnpike’s westbound lanes just before 4 a.m. in Mount Pleasant Township, about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh, said Carl DeFebo, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The crash prompted officials to shut down an 86-mile stretch of the turnpike between New Stanton and Breezewood in both directions. Eastbound travel was reopened Sunday afternoon.
Photos from the scene showed a mangled FedEx truck, a semi cab pushed partially up an embankment and an overturned Ohio Coach branded charter bus scattered across the turnpike lanes. The injured ranged in age from 7 to 52 years old. Twenty-five of them were taken to Frick Hospital in Mount Pleasant, the Associated Press reported. Nine of the Frick patients were younger than 18. A hospital in neighboring Somerset County received 18 victims; it was unclear to which hospital the remaining victims were taken.
The tour bus, operated by a New Jersey-based company called Z& D Tours, was traveling from Rockaway, N.J., to Cincinnati, Ohio, Pennsylvania State Police spokesman Stephen Limani told reporters.
He said the bus was traveling downhill on a curve, careened up an embankment and rolled over. Two tractor-trailers then struck the bus. A third tractor-trailer then crashed into those trucks. A passenger car was also involved in the pile-up.
The cause of the crash is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. DeFebo said it was unclear if weather played a part but described the crash location, near mile marker 86 of the turnpike, as generally weather-prone.
“This is the kind of the eastern slope of the Allegheny Mountains. The area around Donegal is kind of a mountainous stretch,” DeFebo said. “You’re less than 10 miles away from the steepest part of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. “
DeFebo said despite the lengthy closures, fewer motorists than average will be affected.
“Sunday morning is our lightest travel time of the week,” he said. “This is a quasi-holiday travel time, but we’re not expecting a lot of traffic in the area. Locally, we’re encouraging motorists to avoid the area.”
FedEx did not confirm details about its truck driver Sunday, but FedEx Spokeswoman Allie Addoms said in a statement the company would cooperate with the investigation.
Representatives for Ohio Coach, which runs charter service between New York and Ohio, could not immediately be reached for comment Sunday.