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Multiple people were killed in a major crash involving a tour bus, semi-trucks, and several other vehicles on the Pennsylvania Turnpike early Sunday in the western part of the state that left dozens injured, according to officials.
The crash happened around 3:30 a.m. Sunday in the highway’s westbound lanes in Mount Pleasant Township, located about 40 miles southeast of downtown Pittsburgh.
Pennsylvania Turnpike spokesman Carl DeFebo confirmed fatalities on Twitter, saying a “prolonged closure” of the turnpike is likely. DeFebo added the Westmoreland County coroner confirmed five fatalities and said at least 60 people were hospitalized with injuries.
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The 60 people have been transported to three area hospitals in Westmoreland County, according to DeFebo.
A Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher told KDKA-TV the accident involved one tour bus, multiple semi-trucks and an unknown number of passenger vehicles.
Multiple people were killed after a major crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike early Sunday.
(KDKA-TV via NNS)
Images from the scene showed mangled wreckage on the highway. A tour bus could be seen flipped on its side as a result of the crash.
The crash happened on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Westmoreland County, around 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
(KDKA-TV via NNS)
Angela Maynard, a tractor-trailer driver from Kentucky, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review she was traveling eastbound with her co-driver on the turnpike around 3:30 a.m. when they came across the crash.
“It was horrible,” she said.
Maynard told the newspaper she saw someone laying on the ground, while another person was trapped in their truck.
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“I walked toward the scene and saw one of the truck drivers laying near the barrier. I tried to keep him occupied, keep talking, until medical help arrived,” Maynard told the Tribune-Review. “He was in bad shape. He was floating in and out of consciousness.”
Emergency crews respond to a fatal crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Mount Pleasant Township early Sunday morning, Jan. 5, 2020.
(WPIX TV via AP)
The crash caused all lanes to be closed in both directions on the highway between the Breezewood and New Stanton exits, roughly an 86-mile stretch of roadway.
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Motorists traveling east are being urged to use Route 119 south US 40 east to Interstate 68 east (at Cumberland, Maryland) to Interstate 70 west and re-enter the turnpike at the Breezewood Interchange exit 161.
Westbound motorists are urged to use Route 30 west to Interstate 99 north to US Route 22 west to Route 66 south and re-enter the turnpike at exit 75 in at the New Stanton exit.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike can be seen empty after it was closed in both directions following a major crash early Sunday.
(KDKA-TV via NNS)
It was not clear if the weather was a factor in the crash. The National Weather Service forecast for Westmoreland County early Sunday listed light unknown precipitation and an air temperature just below freezing.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is sending investigators to the crash scene, WPXI reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
