Motorist drove over median in Route 22 wrong-way crash, police say

A Salem woman was seriously hurt after state police said she ran a red light and drove over a low concrete center median on Route 22 earlier this week, slamming into an oncoming tractor-trailer.

Troopers said Wendi A. Hutton, 49, of Slickville was headed eastbound in Salem at 9 a.m. Monday when she went through the red light at the intersection with Route 819 and crossed into the westbound lanes. Brent T. Sholtis, 32, of Mineral Point, was driving a tractor-trailer westbound and swerved in an attempt to avoid crashing, police said.

The two collided and Hutton was extricated by rescue crews. She was taken by medical helicopter to UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh for treatment of what police described as serious injuries. Sholtis was evaluated on scene by paramedics and police said he wasn’t hurt.

The wrong-way crash shut down the highway for a couple hours and hazmat crews cleaned up a fuel spill from the tractor-trailer. The Westmoreland County Hazardous Materials Response Team removed fuel from the ruptured tank, according to a post on the group’s Facebook page. Firefighters and workers nearby were able to stop the spill quickly after the crash.

The section of Route 22 is a main east-west thoroughfare through Westmoreland County and among the busiest highways in the county with a daily traffic count of 22,000 vehicles, according to PennDOT figures.