7 injured after 9-car crash inside Liberty Tunnel
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A crash involving nine cars inside the Liberty Tunnel sent seven people to the hospital, including one in critical condition, creating a traffic nightmare hours before the Steelers' home game on Thursday.
Nine vehicles were involved in a crash in the inbound tunnel on Thursday around 5 p.m., Pittsburgh Public Safety said on social media. Officials originally said six people were taken to the hospital but updated that number to seven on Friday afternoon.
The initial investigation shows a truck traveling through the inbound side hit several vehicles before coming out of the tunnel at PJ McCardle Roadway, police said. The truck driver was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Rescue crews had to extricate several people.
The crash shut down the Liberty Tunnel in both directions for hours.
Photos from NewsChopper 2 showed a large response from first responders. As of 7 p.m., Public Safety said vehicles stuck inside the inbound side when the crash happened are slowly being backed out with the help of first responders. Shortly after 7:30 p.m., Public Safety said in another update that the vehicles have been cleared from the outbound side.
In an update just before 9 p.m., Pittsburgh Public Safety said all the vehicles stuck inside the tunnel have been cleared from both sides. Everything reopened around 10 p.m.
Public Safety thanked everyone for their patience during the "painstaking" process.
The crash happened just a few hours before the Steelers' game at Acrisure Stadium on the North Shore against the New England Patriots.
Acrisure Stadium on Wednesday encouraged fans to come two hours early to avoid anticipated heavy traffic and last-minute crowds at the gate. Gates open at 6:15 p.m. Parking lots opened at 3:15 p.m.