Jan 7, 2015 2 min read

The driver of a tractor-trailer was slightly injured Wednesday morning when his rig jackknifed and crashed into a toll booth at the southbound California exit of the Mon-Fayette Expressway (Toll 43) in Fallowfield Township.

Douglas D. Baldwin, 52, of Rittman, Ohio, was taken by ambulance to Monongahela Valley Hospital after the crash.

At least one Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission employee who was working inside the booth at the time of the crash escaped injury, said Renee Colborn, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission in Harrisburg. The crash happened just before 7 a.m. when the rig jackknifed and slid into the canopy at the toll plaza.

Although there was initially a backlog in the area, traffic was moving through the remaining lane open at the toll plaza. Colborn said the crash blocked lanes 2 and 3 at the plaza. The wreckage of the truck was removed and crews finished cleaning the remaining debris about 2 p.m.

Colborn said engineers for the turnpike commission would be inspecting the structure at the plaza to make sure it is stabilized. She said some welding and repairs will be needed before all lanes are open to traffic.

Ron Sicchitano, deputy director of Washington County Emergency Services, said the county’s hazardous materials team was called by the Charleroi Fire Department to assist with a fuel spill. He said that at least one of the saddle tanks on the truck-tractor broke open. Some fuel made it to a stormwater drain, but the amount was minimal, Sicchitano added. He said the state Department of Environmental Protection was notified.

Sicchitano said the turnpike commission’s own remedial team from McCutcheon Enterprises that handles spills also responded to the scene.

The truck is owned by D&B Fat Boy of Rittman. Baldwin was cited by state police for driving too fast for road conditions.