A woman driving an SUV and a man driving a tractor-trailer were flown to area hospitals after their vehicles collided Tuesday evening on Route 22 in Salem Township.
The crash was reported before 6:30 p.m. at the intersection of Route 119.
All lanes of Route 22 in the vicinity were closed to traffic for several hours and reopened after investigators completed their work.
State police said the tractor-trailer headed east on Route 22 drove through a red light and hit a Kia Telluride attempting to turn south on Route 119.
Forbes Road Fire Chief Bob Rosatti said the impact spun the SUV, and the truck continued across the westbound lanes, crashing through a guardrail and careening 100 feet down an embankment.
Extra manpower was needed to bring the truck driver — identified by troopers as Alan C. Pratt, 74, of Connecticut — back to the roadway.
“He went the whole way to the bottom,” Rosatti said. “He needed extricated, and we had several fire departments involved. We had to cut our way down with a chain saw and remove some brush with machetes.
“They loaded him in a stokes basket, and they used a rope system to pull him up over the hill.”
Pratt was flown by medical helicopter to AHN Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, according to state police. Lindsay N. Williams, 31, of New Alexandria, was flown by medical helicopter to UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh.
State police on Wednesday morning said the hospitalized motorists remain in critical condition after sustaining major injuries.
Firefighters used booms to contain fuel that leaked from the tractor-trailer, Rosatti said.
