2 DEAD IN 18-VEHICLE PILEUP ON PENNSYLVANIA I-80 HIGHWAY CAUSED BY A SNOW SQUALL THAT LEFT DRIVERS WITH LITTLE VISIBILITY
(AP Photo/exploreClarion.com/Bauer Truck Repair). In
this photo provided by exploreClarion.com/Bauer Truck Repair, vehicles remain
at the scene of a fatal 18-vehicle pileup that occurred in whiteout conditions
Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015, on Interstate 80.
(AP Photo/exploreClarion.com/Bauer Truck Repair). In
this photo provided by exploreClarion.com/Bauer Truck Repair, vehicles remain
at the scene of a fatal 18-vehicle pileup that occurred in whiteout conditions
Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015, on Interstate 80.
CLARION, PA. (AP) - A western Pennsylvania motorist and
a Kentucky trucker were identified as those who died in an 18-vehicle crash
caused by a snow squall that left drivers with little visibility on Interstate
80, authorities said Thursday.
The chain reaction pileup happened Wednesday afternoon
in whiteout conditions in Clarion Township, about 60 miles from the Ohio
border.
Timothy Floravit, 35, of Beaver Falls, died of chest and
stomach injuries from hitting the steering column of his vehicle, which crashed
with his wife and children also inside, Clarion County Coroner Terry Shaffer
told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The other man killed was Leonard Mink, 67, of Nancy,
Kentucky, who was struck by another vehicle when he got out of his rig to help
other motorists. It wasn't immediately clear if Mink's vehicle was among those
involved in the crash, or whether he had been able to stop safely before he was
killed.
Nine trucks, several of them tractor-trailers, and nine
cars were involved in the crash in the highway's westbound lanes, state police
said. At least one of the trucks was carrying hazardous material, but no leaks
were found, a county official said.
"It was carnage," Shaffer said. "(There
was) metal everywhere. There were busted axles, trucks totaled. One tanker
truck didn't have any wheels on it."
State police spokesman Trooper Jamie Levier told the AP
the number of those injured and taken to hospital was less than 10, not nearly
two dozen as was reported earlier. He said the inflated number may have been
caused by other authorities assuming that a bus carrying nearly 20 passengers
was headed to a hospital.
"They weren't injured. It was 10 degrees out,"
and the bus was used to keep them warm until they could find other
transportation from the crash, Levier said.
The coroner said Floravit's wife said "they just
kept getting hit and banged around." He collapsed and died of internal
injuries while looking for his children, who had been ejected, Shaffer said.
The children were found unharmed.
None of the injuries were thought to be
life-threatening, although three of those taken to Clarion Hospital were sent
on to Pittsburgh hospitals with more serious injuries. The others were being
treated for everything from bumps to broken bones, hospital spokeswoman Julie
Kunselman said.
The National Weather Service had issued warnings about
lake effect snow squalls in the area Wednesday afternoon. The squalls drifted
southwest from Lake Erie.
A third person in Clarion County crashed his car and
died at about the same time, but his death was attributed to a heart attack,
Shaffer said.