Adult, toddler killed in I-70 crash near Claysville
An adult and young child were killed Sunday afternoon when the car they were traveling in crashed nearly head-on into a tractor-trailer on Interstate 70 near the Claysville exit.
State police said the family’s passenger sedan was traveling west on the interstate when the driver lost control and went up and over the grassy hillside and struck the eastbound big rig shortly after 1 p.m.
The adult passenger in the car died at the scene while the toddler was flown by medical helicopter to UPMC Washington Hospital and pronounced dead an hour later, Washington County Coroner Timothy Warco said. Their identities were not immediately released while investigators worked to notify relatives.
The coroner said the two adults in the vehicle were not wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, and the child was not in a car seat. Both the child and the adult were thrown from the vehicle during the crash. The driver of the car, who was not identified, was flown by medical helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital for treatment.
The driver of the tractor-trailer, who was not identified by state police, was not injured.
The collision tore open the passenger side of the car and also launched the tractor-trailer up an embankment and into the back of a home located along the side of the highway in Donegal Township. The home at 61 Donegal Ave. appeared to have minimal damage, and the resident, who asked not to be identified, said no one inside was hurt.
The eastbound lanes of I-70 near the Claysville exit were closed for several hours Sunday while state police and the coroner investigated, causing lengthy traffic backups on nearby Route 40 as motorists detoured around the crash.
Firefighters from Claysville, West Alexander, Taylorstown and North Franklin assisted at the scene.