2 Good Samaritans hurt in I-70 crash on Belle Vernon-Speers Bridge

Two Good Samaritans attempting to help a motorist whose vehicle had become disabled on the Belle Vernon-Speers Bridge Saturday were hit by another vehicle and hospitalized, according to Trooper Robert Broadwater.

Neither suffered life threatening injuries in the 6:45 a.m. crash on Interstate 70, he said. One of them was a West Newton police office on his way to work, according to Mayor Mary Popovich.

The eastbound lanes of the highway were shut down for several hours at the border of Westmoreland and Washington counties. Photos taken by firefighters with Rostraver Central Fire Department showed three vehicles appearing to be involved in the crash, all of which had heavy damage.

Broadwater said a Chrysler Town and Country minivan operated by a 53-year-old man became disabled in the left lane of the bridge and the two Good Samaritans — men ages 43 and 44 — stopped in separate vehicles to help. With three vehicles stopped in the left lane, a fourth vehicle collided with them, causing a chain reaction crash that pushed the parked vehicles into the two Good Samaritans, he said. The West Newton officer had a head injury and is expected to recover, Popovich said.

Their identities have not been released.

“The person that hit everybody has to be aware … of your surroundings,” Broadwater said. “It’s your responsibility to know what’s in front of you.”

The driver of the vehicle that crashed into the others was taken to a hospital and released, he said. The driver of the original disabled vehicle was not hurt.

The speed limit drops just before the bridge to 45 mph and Broadwater said there were not any adverse weather conditions at the time.

“There are things that you could’ve done to avoid that,” he said.

The Belle Vernon-Speers Bridge carries the highway over the Monongahela River. There were three crashes in 2014, 2018 and 2019 on the westbound side of the span that resulted in property damage only, according to PennDOT data.

That section of the highway sees about 42,000 vehicles daily, according to PennDOT traffic volume maps.