Metal debris on Parkway East damages over a dozen cars, state police say
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pennsylvania State Police say a huge piece of metal damaged more than a dozen cars on the Parkway East Monday night.
Many drivers had their tires flattened and spent hours waiting for tow trucks to assist them.
PennDOT told KDKA-TV that it seemed like that object somehow fell off a vehicle carrying it.
"It felt like a big bump, like a tree trunk. And I was like, 'Oh no.' The car told me no tire pressure," said driver Kellie Person.
Person and her son AJ were stuck on the side of the Parkway East near the Churchill exit due to what looks like a cast iron storm drain cover.
"I got to the side of the road. When I pulled over, there were at least six cars ahead of me. And there were probably another six back behind me. Some of them pulled off; I guess they were okay [and] didn't have damage, but the rest of us [were] waiting for tows. I'm one of the last ones waiting for a tow."
KDKA-TV learned that PennDOT got dispatched to debris. They found it near the fork of the road. It was heavy, about two and a half feet long, and took three workers to haul it off.
Once one car hit it, it wasn't moving. Car after car after car kept hitting the debris. Almost everybody got flat tires.
"PennDOT said it was like six feet long. It was flat. I didn't see it beforehand. The PennDOT worker and police assumed it fell off a truck, but they don't know," Person said.
The silver lining for Person was that she and her son AJ didn't get hurt.
"It's crazy, but, you know, no one got hurt. So, it's okay in the end. We are okay. Everyone is safe. That is the important thing," Person said.