Construction worker dies in fall from bucket truck off Parkway East overpass
A construction worker died Friday morning from injuries suffered in a fall from a Parkway East overpass, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
The man was identified by Allegheny County officials as Derek Cronk, 41, of Bridgeport, Ohio.
Pittsburgh firefighters and medics were called shortly after 3 a.m. to the area near the Oakland/Forbes Avenue exit along Interstate 376.
Police said Cronk was atop a bucket truck in the closed left lane of outbound I-376, with the bucket extended out over the right lane. A passing tractor-trailer struck the bottom of the bucket, causing it spin and eject Cronk, who then fell over the overpass.
Cronk was transported to UPMC Mercy Hospital and pronounced dead.
The outbound lanes had reopened as of 7:15 a.m., according to PennDOT’s 511pa.com website.
UPDATE: Crash on I-376 eastbound between Exit 72A - Forbes Ave/Oakland and Exit 72A - Forbes Ave/Oakland. All lanes closed.
— 511PA Pittsburgh (@511PAPittsburgh) October 7, 2022
State police are investigating.
FATAL CONSTRUCTION ZONE CRASH has All Outbound / Eastbound Lanes of the Parkway East CLOSED at Oakland / Forbes Ave. Alt Route: Blvd of the Allies or Second Ave to Bates St to the Pkwy East. pic.twitter.com/Mu8ysaFxpa
— WPXI Traffic (@WPXITraffic) October 7, 2022
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.
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