Eastbound Pa. Turnpike reopens in Beaver County after truck crash, fire
The eastbound lanes of the Pennsylvania Turnpike between the New Castle and Cranberry interchanges were closed for several hours overnight Tuesday after a tractor-trailer crashed and caught fire.
State police said the crash happened at mile marker 13.2, on the bridge over the Beaver River, in Big Beaver Borough shortly before 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The lanes reopened just before 5:20 a.m. Wednesday.
According to state police, the eastbound truck was loaded with chicken eggs. The driver, Anthony Michael Eaches, of Temperance, Mich., failed to negotiate a left hand curve. The truck hit the guiderail with its right side, then traveled back across both the right and left lanes and hit the center cement barrier with its left side. It then traveled about 500 feet back across both lanes, coming to rest against the concrete barrier on the bridge, where it became engulfed in flames.
Eaches got out himself, and suffered minor injuries. He was taken to Pittsburgh’s Allegheny General Hospital by ambulance.
The eastbound lanes were closed and traffic detoured from 7:50 p.m. Tuesday to 5:30 a.m. Wednesday while workers inspected the road and bridge for damage and cleaned up the crash scene, police said. The westbound left lane was closed for about 45 minutes while the fire was put out.
State police are asking anyone who witnessed the crash to call Trooper Kevin Vresh at 724-443-5907.
Brian C. Rittmeyer, a Pittsburgh native and graduate of Penn State University's Schreyer Honors College, has been with the Trib since December 2000. He can be reached at brittmeyer@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.