A male passenger in an SUV was killed in a multi-vehicle crash early Wednesday that left Interstate 80 in Mercer County shut down for nearly 11 hours, according to state police.

The pileup occurred about 5:45 a.m. in the highway’s eastbound lanes near mile marker 14 in East Lackawannock Township, state police Lt. Adam Reed and Trooper Bertha Cazy said.

In a news release, troopers said a commercial vehicle traveling east crashed after skidding on snow and slush. That started a chain reaction collision involving several other commercial and passenger vehicles. Photographs from the scene showed several tractor-trailers involved.

The SUV hit one of the tractor-trailers and then was rear-ended by another vehicle that was hit by a tractor-trailer, police said. The SUV’s driver was extricated by civilians and taken to a hospital. The passenger was trapped and died at the scene, police said.

An estimated six people were hurt.

“Between eight to 10 vehicles are involved in the crash, including tractor-trailers and passenger vehicles,” Cazy said. “There were also multiple nonreportable avoidance collisions on scene as well.”

The Mercer County Coroner’s Office declined to comment Wednesday afternoon.

I-80’s exit 15, the exit closest to the crash, takes motorists on Route 19 toward Thiel College and Westminster College, according to an online map.

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