A series of crashes shut down Interstate 81 in Frackville, Pennsylvania on Thursday morning, resulting in at least one death.
According to The Times-Tribune, the chain-reaction pileup began around 4:30 a.m., when a FedEx semi truck lost control and flipped on its driver’s side, partially blocking the highway and causing traffic to come to a sudden halt.
An elderly couple who was towing an SUV with a motorhome was unable to stop in time and barreled into another semi which was stopped for the wreck.
The elderly couple suffered non-life threatening injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital. The truck driver was not injured.
Minutes later, a third crash occurred about half a mile north of the other two crashes.
34-year-old truck driver, Edward Rosario, was driving a Turtle Power Delivery Truck and was unable to stop due to the sudden traffic. He crashed into several cars and trucks, including another tractor trailer owned by Kane Freight Lines Inc. Rosario was the only one to suffer serious injuries, and was pronounced dead at 5:15 a.m.
The Kane Freight Lines Inc. truck was loaded with alcohol which spilled across the highway.
Emergency crews attended to the scene where the trucker lost his life.
The crashes shut down the southbound lanes of I-81 between the Mahanoy City and Frackville exits for 7 hours. By noon, the highway was reopened.
The incident remains under investigation.