Pennsylvania State Police say that one man lost his life in a multi-vehicle crash involving several tractor trailers on I-80 yesterday.
The crash occurred around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 18, while heavy rain was falling on I-80 near Milton, Pennsylvania.
MILTON — A Berwick man died Tuesday in a massive mid-afternoon crash on Interstate 80 involving at least four tractor-trailers and a compact car. https://t.co/cnahS4153f
— The Daily Item (@dailyitem) June 19, 2019
Police say that two cars and a semi truck crashed in the eastbound lanes of I-80 because of the heavy rain.
Just a few minutes later, four commercial vehicles and pickup truck reportedly collided in the westbound lanes of I-80 near mile marker 213.
Seventy-four year old Earl McCormick, who was hauling trash, was later pronounced dead at the scene as a result of the second crash.
No other injuries were reported.
Truck driver Marlin Williamson, who witnessed the crash, told The Daily Item, “It was raining hard. All I could see was one of the trucks, the Fed Ex-Ground truck swerving, probably trying to avoid hitting the other truck. As a truck driver, seeing this really shook me up.”
Traffic on I-80 West near Mooresburg is moving at a snail’s pace… taking 50 minutes to go 11 miles towards Milton. @WNEP saw several drivers make illegal u-turns to get out of the back up. Crews are still clearing debris from a deadly crash, which happened around 1:30 p.m. pic.twitter.com/Pby0xo9i16
— Carolyn Blackburne (@cblackburne) June 18, 2019
The incident shut down both directions of I-80 for hours, resulting in mile-long traffic backups. Westbound I-80 remained closed until just before midnight on Tuesday, but all lanes have since reopened.
The crash remains under investigation.
For more on the deadly pileup, you can view the report below.