Pa. Turnpike tragedy: 5 dead in ‘horrific incident’ that could take weeks to investigate

A deadly Pennsylvania Turnpike crash involving a tour bus and multiple tractor-trailers early Sunday left the vehicles so entangled that it took first responders hours to reach the dead and shut down the major thoroughfare for nearly 15 hours, authorities said.

Five people died in what Pennsylvania State Police called a chain-reaction crash near mile marker 86 in the westbound lanes in Mt. Pleasant Township. More than 50 others were taken to hospitals across the region.

“We don’t even have identities of some of the people because of the severity of the crash and how entangled the vehicles are,” Trooper Stephen Limani, a state police spokesman, said Sunday afternoon, hours after the vehicles had crashed.

He said 55 people in total were injured, including two who were in critical condition. None of those suffered life-threatening injuries.

By Sunday night the identities of those killed had been released by Westmoreland County Coroner Ken Bacha:

• Shuang Qing Feng, 58, Flushing, N.Y.;

• Eileen Zelis Aria, 35, Bronx, N.Y.;

• Jaremy Vazquez, 9, of Brooklyn, N.Y.;

• Dennis Kehler, 48, of Lebanon, Pa.;

• Daniel Kepner, 53, of Lewistown, Pa.

UPS confirmed late Sunday that Kepner and Kehler were two of its drivers. The company said Kepner worked at UPS for five years and Kehler for 28 years.

UPS said the men were driving together in a tractor-trailer based out of its Harrisburg operating center.

The crash happened about 3:40 a.m. as the bus, traveling from Z&D Tours in Rockaway, N.J., was rounding a downhill curve in Mt. Pleasant Township, according to state police. The bus failed to fully negotiate the turn and hit an embankment, causing it to flip onto its side.

Limani said two tractor-trailers hit the overturned bus, and a third tractor-trailer crashed into the pileup. The big rigs involved were two UPS trucks and a FedEx truck loaded with packages. A passenger car was also involved in the crash.

The westbound lanes of the turnpike reopened between 6 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. The eastbound lanes reopened around 4 p.m.

Angela Maynard, a tractor-trailer driver from Kentucky, said she was traveling eastbound on the turnpike when she and her driving partner came upon the scene.

“I looked up at that hill there, and I could see lights. It looked like a lot of them,” said Maynard, who called 911. “There was no fire, just a lot of smoke at that point.”

She and her co-driver got out of their truck to see if anyone was hurt. She could see one person lying on the ground and another trapped in a truck. She said she tried to calm one of the truck drivers, who was lying near the turnpike’s barrier, until help arrived.

“I tried to keep him occupied, keep talking, until medical help arrived,” she said. “He was in bad shape. He was floating in and out of consciousness.”

Maynard said the roads were wet from snow but not particularly slick.

Turnpike Commission spokeswoman Renee Colborn said the roads had been treated and reiterated that they were not icy.

Related content

• A look at other deadly bus crashes in the U.S., Pennsylvania
• Mass-casualty plans become reality as hospitals treat turnpike crash victims
• Bus company in turnpike crash has had only minor violations in past 2 years

Limani said the American Red Cross is assisting the victims, most of whom are from outside the United States. He said there are language barriers, and many are now without their luggage and passports.

“We’re doing everything we can to make sure while they’re in our country, and they’re involved in this horrific incident, that we’re able to be compassionate and provide the things that they’re going to need outside of just medical treatment,” Limani said.

Frightened family members descended on area hospitals seeking information on loved ones involved in the crash.

Leticia Moreta got to Forbes Hospital about 11:30 a.m. to pick up her children, 24-year-old Jorge and 16-year-old Melanie. They were returning home after visiting their father in New York, she said, and she’d been heading to Ohio to pick them up.

“I was devastated,” she said. She said her son and daughter were in stable condition following the crash.

Omeil Ellis of Irvington, N.J., was at Excela Health Frick Hospital in Mt. Pleasant to see his brother, 17-year-old Quan. Omeil Ellis said his family was waiting Sunday afternoon to see if Quan would be released soon.

In the meantime, he said, his other brother, Anthony, was undergoing surgery at another hospital.

“I was crying,” Omeil Ellis said. “I was, like, crazy crying. I’m still hurt.”

He said both brothers were traveling to Ohio for work. He had planned to join them later.

“I’m just weak right now,” he said.

Thirty-one people were treated at Excela Frick, Excela Health spokeswoman Robin Jennings said.

The injured at Frick ranged in age from 7 to 52, and nine were children. Of the 31, 27 were treated and released in stable condition.

Four initially taken to Frick were transferred to Pittsburgh hospitals: Three to UPMC Presbyterian and one to UPMC Children’s Hospital, a UPMC spokeswoman said.

Eleven others were transported to Forbes Hospital in Monroeville. One was in critical condition Sunday afternoon, and the others were in fair condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.

UPMC Somerset received 18 patients: 12 adults and six children, according to a UPMC spokeswoman. She said all have been treated and released.

FedEx and UPS released statements offering condolences and saying they are cooperating with investigators.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating, but it could be weeks or months before the cause of the crash becomes clear, Limani said. Accident reconstruction experts will use tracking devices within the vehicles, inspections of the vehicles and other evidence to investigate.

Turnpike Chief Operating Officer Craig Shuey said the turnpike followed standard protocol by shutting down the highway for 86 miles between New Stanton and Breezewood, rather than a shorter closure between New Stanton and Donegal, because the communities are not equipped to handle the heavy flow of commercial traffic that would be getting on and off at Donegal.

Excela Health Frick Hospital Case Management has established a phone number — 724-237-6027 — for family members only, the Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety said. The American Red Cross is assisting victims and relatives of those involved in the crash and said anyone needing assistance can call 800-Red-Cross.

This story was compiled from reporting by staff writers Jacob Tierney, Paul Peirce, Renatta Signorini, Joe Napsha, Megan Tomasic and Brian Rittmeyer. Megan Guza is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Megan at 412-380-8519, mguza@tribweb.com or via Twitter @meganguzaTrib.