A woman who suffered serious injuries in a December 2020 pileup crash has filed suit against several trucking companies and drivers.
On Thursday, December 9, Nebraska resident Bianca J. Armbruster filed a lawsuit against trucking companies, truck drivers, and an SUV driver, seeking damages in excess of $75,000, according to PennLive.
The suit names truck drivers Anvarkhon Akbarov, Carl Innocent, and Henryk W. Biront, as well as SUV driver Bradley A. Connor. Companies JX Enterprises Inc., JX Leasing, Eco Trucking, Viva Express Inc., and BTE Trucking are also named in the suit.
The lawsuit claims that the drivers were going too fast for the snowy conditions.
The crash occurred at 3 p.m. on December 16, 2020, in the westbound lanes of I-80 in Greene and Lamar Townships.
A winter storm was moving through the state at the time that the crash occurred and travel restrictions were in place on many roadways in the state.
PSP says that a total of 66 vehicles were involved in the pileup along a one mile stretch of interstate. Troopers say that 11 of the vehicles were cars and the other 55 were commercial vehicles.
One person was killed in the pileup and another died from a heart attack while caught up in the traffic backup caused by the pileup. Twenty-two others, including Armbruster, were injured.
Armbruster was driving a Jeep Cherokee that was hit by multiple trucks, according to the suit. She alleges that she was trapped in her vehicle for six hours and required an emergency procedure to open an airway before she could be extricated and taken to the hospital. Armbruster reportedly also suffered several fractures.
Following an investigation, Pennsylvania State Police opted not to issue criminal charges, though some drivers were cited for following too closely and speed violations.