3 hurt in 13-vehicle crash on turnpike
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Three people were injured in an 13-vehicle pile-up that closed the Pennsylvania Turnpike for about seven hours overnight in Beaver County.
None of the injuries was considered life threatening, said Turnpike spokesman Carl DeFabo.
"It was a mangled and tangled mess," Mr. DeFabo said this morning. "The fact that only three people were transported, considering there were 20 occupants and drivers involved, I guess it could've been a lot worse. Certainly, you don't like to see this type of thing at all."
The crash was reported at about 11:15 p.m. at milepost 17, eastbound on the Turnpike about four miles east of the Beaver Valley exit in Sewickley Township.
Traffic was detoured in both directions as the crash destroyed three sections of the concrete median.
Motorists were ordered off the highway onto alternate routes between New Castle and Cranberry.
The chain-reaction collision started with a jackknifed tractor-trailer.
Mr. DeFabo said there had been reports of icy patches along the Turnpike as snow and sleet had been falling.
In all, five tractor-trailers and eight passenger vehicles collided.
Much of the challenge of clearing the wreckage came in efforts to dislodge the mangled vehicles, the spokesman said.
None of the loads spilled from any of the trucks.
Because the detours had been working well, crews decided to permanently replace the broken median, rather than use a temporary fix, Mr. DeFabo said.
Turnpike workers applied salt and anti-skid material to the pavement before the highway was reopened at 7:15 a.m.
No information was immediately available on the conditions of the injured.
First Published February 18, 2010 10:07 am
