2 killed in fiery crash on major Pittsburgh highway
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Two people were killed after a tractor-trailer crashed head-on with another vehicle on Interstate 79 on Thursday morning near Neville Island, causing the major highway to close in both directions for a few hours.
Just after midnight, police said the driver of a tractor-trailer was traveling south on I-79 when they crossed the center median and into the northbound lanes, colliding head-on with another vehicle.
The crash pushed both the vehicle and the tractor-trailer into an embankment, where they caught fire, police said.
Both drivers were pronounced dead when Pennsylvania State Police troopers and EMS arrived at the scene.
During the crash, police said the trailer portion of the truck hit a second driver who was also traveling northbound. All of the crashes happened in a work zone.
All other passengers were taken to the hospital and treated for injuries sustained in the crash. Their conditions are unknown at this time.
Pennsylvania State Police's collision analysis and reconstruction specialists are investigating.
Northbound I-79 reopened to a single lane of traffic at around 8 a.m. It reopened to traffic in each direction shortly after 1 p.m., PennDOT said.
The medical examiner identified one of the victims as 54-year-old Frank L. Tupper Jr. of Butler.
