Officials say that a truck driver might be to blame for the massive backup that stranded 500 vehicles on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in winter weather conditions over the weekend.
Much of the Pennsylvania Turnpike was closed until Sunday afternoon, leaving hundreds of drivers stranded for hours — and transportation officials say that an illegal driving maneuver by a truck driver could be to blame.
Officials Believe Truck Should Not Have Been In Right Lane
According to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, the backup likely occurred because two trucks were driving side by side in the westbound lanes through a construction area with narrow lanes around 8:30 Friday night when they collided about three miles away from the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel entrance. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission says that the truck in the right lane probably should not have been there because trucks were restricted to the left lane through much of the construction zone. Because of poor weather conditions, travel officials were unable to remove the trucks, which led to the backup which stranded drivers.
Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission Will Continue Investigation Into How Backups Happened
No citations have been written yet, but the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has vowed to thoroughly investigate the matter: “We’re going to take a hard look at how these tractor-trailers got together, what was the word on if they should or shouldn’t have been there and the timing of that message, and if it’s in a construction zone should they have only been in one lane versus the two lanes because the lane on the left side is wider.”
No serious injuries were reported as a result of the backup.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has issued an apology to all drivers who were inconvenienced by the backup.
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Sources:
The Pittsburg Post-Gazette
Fox 29
WMUR
York Dispatch