An 18-year-old Slippery Rock University student was killed Friday in a series of weather-related crashes involving at least 25 vehicles on northbound Interstate 79 in Butler County that shut down a section of the highway for hours.
Both lanes of the divided highway, which were closed in both directions between mile markers 80 and 88 — from the Zelienople to Evans City exits — reopened late Friday afternoon, said Cpl. Bertha Cazy.
State police reported Friday evening that the fatal accident occurred between a pickup truck hauling a trailer and a Subaru Impreza driven by Evan M. Gingo, 18.
Police did not release an address for Gingo, but he was a member of the Mt. Lebanon High School Class of 2025.
Slippery Rock released a statement Friday night offering its condolences and support. The statement said Gingo was a first-year exercise science major.
Police said the pickup had slowed because of traffic ahead of it that was backed up by previous accidents. The Subaru, in the passing lane, crashed into the driver’s side of the pickup. The pickup driver was not injured.
Nine other people were injured, state police said, but they had not information regarding the severity of those injuries.
There also were 20 motorists whose cars weren’t involved in the crashes but whose cars were disabled, state police reported.
The accidents occurred in Jackson Township just after 10:20 a.m., police said, and were caused by snowy and icy road conditions.
Route 28 shut down
At least one accident shut down northbound Route 28 for a time near Freeport. First responders blocked traffic at Exit 16. Calls for that accident came in shortly after 3 p.m. Reports from the scene indicated that between three and six vehicles were involved, with some sliding into cars that already had collided.
According to the National Weather Service, the Pittsburgh area was expected to get 1 to 2 inches of snow Friday, with 3 to 6 inches expected in the ridges.
Meteorologist Tim Cermak said when the precipitation started Friday morning, it began as freezing drizzle before transitioning to all snow.
The temperatures Friday morning around the time of the crash were in the low 20s, he said.
“If roads aren’t treated, at those temperatures, freezing drizzle and snow could lay on the roads and become slick,” Cermak said.
Because of the recent spate of cold weather, he continued, the roads themselves are also cold, which allows the snow and freezing drizzle to stick more quickly.
“All it takes is a coating to make roads slick and people lose traction,” Cermak said.
