Pennsylvania Turnpike crash involving tractor trailers, tour bus leaves 5 dead
The crash caused the turnpike to close down in both directions
Five people are dead with around 60 injured after a crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike at 3:40 a.m. Sunday, according to authorities.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation closed the Turnpike in both directions between the Breezewood (Exit 161) and New Stanton (Exit 75) interchanges as emergency crews continued to sort through the wreckage.
A passenger bus owned by Z&D Tours was traveling from Rockaway, New Jersey, to Cincinnati was traveling down a grade when it could not navigate a turn. The bus went up an embankment and rolled over before being hit by two tractor trailers, Pennsylvania State Police spokesman Stephen Limani told reporters Sunday afternoon.
Those two trucks were struck by another tractor trailer, and another passenger car was involved in the crash, Limani said, who described it as "extremely serious."
Emergency crews respond to a fatal crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Mount Pleasant Township early Sunday morning, Jan. 5, 2020. (WPIX TV via AP)
The Westmoreland County Coroner's Office confirmed to FOX Business that five people had been killed. Fourteen National Transportation Safety Board investigators are on the scene, according to Limani.
The bus was carrying foreigners, the majority of whom did not speak English, Limani said. None of the 60 have life-threatening injuries, though two of them have "critical" injuries, he said.
Images from the accident show a FedEx Ground truck mangled in the accident.
"First and foremost we extend our deepest condolences to the families of the individuals involved in this accident," FedEx told Fox News. "There is no higher priority for FedEx Ground than safety, and we are cooperating fully with investigating authorities at this time."
576,000 vehicles use the Turnpike per day, according to the commission that manages the highway.
Photos of the deadly accident show the tour bus flipped over on its side in the westbound side of the turnpike, with debris from the crash causing the eastbound lane to be closed as well.
The exact cause of the crash is still under investigation.