I-70 crashes injure two in Fallowfield Township
Courtesy of Fallowfield Township Volunteer Fire Company
A tractor-trailer crashed through a concrete median late Friday on Interstate 70 in Fallowfield Township.
courtesy of Fallowfield Township Volunteer Fire Company
Shown is the scene of a second accident early Saturday along Interstate 70 in Fallowfield Township.
Back-to-back crashes involving tractor-trailers injured two people late Friday and into Saturday along Interstate 70 in Fallowfield Township.
The first crash about 10:30 p.m. involved a tractor-trailer driven by Jagdeep Singh, 23, who lost control while exiting the Mon-Fayette Expressway onto Interstate 70 west, state police said.
The trucker failed to negotiate the off ramp and his vehicle traveled through a grassy area and onto I-70, where it crashed through the concrete median and into the eastbound lanes of the highway, police said.
Patrick Cooper, 47, of Latrobe, was traveling east and unable to avoid colliding with the tractor-trailer, police said. Cooper and his passenger, Beth Cooper, 55, also of Latrobe, were taken to Mon Valley Hospital, police said. The severity of their injuries was not immediately known.
Fallowfield Volunteer Fire Company said a leak at the crash site required the Washington County Hazardous Materials Team to respond for cleanup.
Just as the fire department was wrapping up at that crash, Washington County 911 informed firefighters of a second accident on I-70 just west of the Mon-Fayettte interchange, the fire company said.
Police said the second crash occurred when Cheryl L. Vecchietti, 52, of Norfolk, Va., was traveling on I-70 east and approaching a truck used for an emergency lane closure. Her tractor-trailer struck a flashing arrow board attached to that vehicle about 1 a.m. Saturday.
The truck with the arrow was being operated by Christopher Blatnik, 57, of Monessen. No one was injured in the second crash.
Fallowfield, assisted by firefighters from Charleroi, cleared the scenes about 4 a.m.