1 Dead, Several Injured In 7-Vehicle Westmoreland Co. Crash
SALEM TOWNSHIP (KDKA) – One person has died and several others were injured when a tractor-trailer reportedly ran a red light and T-boned another vehicle in Westmoreland County Tuesday.
According to police, the accident happened along Route 22 near the Lamplighter Restaurant in Salem Township.
A pickup truck legally entered the intersection from Mark Drive when it was T-boned by a tractor-trailer. Initial reports indicate the tractor-trailer may have run the red light.
Witness Joseph Tatters says he watched in disbelief as the westbound tractor trailer broadsided the pickup.
"First I heard, I heard brakes lock up," said Tatters. "They were just all connected together coming down the road; anything in its way was being hit and spun around - cars on both sides of the road."
The pickup truck was pushed about 40 yards up the road. It came to rest pinned between a concrete barrier and the tractor-trailer.
The pickup truck's driver was transported to a local hospital, and later died. The person's name has not been released.
"It took us about 55 minutes to get him out," said Forbes Road Fire Department Assistant Chief Steven Rosatti. "His legs were down underneath, his feet were down underneath, trapped under the pedals."
"One of the guys was able to bust out the window with his boot, he had a steel toe boot on, just to see if the guy was talking or coherent or anything. He wasn't responsive to us," Tatters said.
A second pickup truck was also hit after the initial collision. Meanwhile, four other vehicles were struck when the tractor-trailer jackknifed.
Two other people were taken to the hospital, but the extent of their injuries is unknown.
State police reconstruction crews were called to the scene.
The investigation is ongoing.
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