Police: Woman, 49, killed after sleeping truck driver rear-ended into her car on Route 65

 Police: Woman, 49, killed after sleeping truck driver rear-ended into her car on Route 65

 

AMBRIDGE, Pa. — 

A 49-year-old woman was killed Friday when a box truck driver fell asleep behind the wheel and crashed into the victim’s car, police said.

The accident happened around 7 a.m. on Route 65.

Channel 11’s Amy Marcinkiewicz reported that the victim, Debra Douds, of Rochester, was stopped at a red light when the truck slammed into her car from behind.

Police said they believe Douds was on her way to work when she was killed.

The driver of the truck, 36-year-old Jeremy Ray Hurst, of the North Hills, was not hurt.

The crash had Route 65 in both directions shut down for several hours.

Officers did perform a blood test on Hurst as they continue to investigate. 

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WOMAN DIES IN ROUTE 65 CRASH IN AMBRIDGE. RENTAL TRUCK HIT DEBRA DOUDS' CAR FROM BEHIND, POLICE SAY AND PUSHES IT 260 FEET

Woman dies in Route 65 crash in Ambridge

Rental truck hit Debra Douds' car from behind, police say

UPDATED 2:46 PM EST Jan 16, 2015

AMBRIDGE, Pa. —A Beaver County woman was killed Friday morning when her car was hit from behind by a Penske Truck Rental vehicle on Ohio River Boulevard (Route 65) in Ambridge.

A crash involving a car and a semi truck left a woman dead Friday morning on Route 65 in Beaver County.

Police say Debra Douds, 49, likely died instantly when her car was struck by the truck driven by Jeremy Hurst, 36, of the Pittsburgh area.

Police Chief James Mann said Douds was stopped for a red light and was facing south in the inside lane at the intersection of Fourth Avenue and Route 65.

"As a result of the impact, he pushed the victim’s vehicle approximately 260 feet before it came to rest," Mann said.

Police said Hurst was taken for a blood test while the investigation continues.

Hurst has an outstanding warrant in Obion County, Tennessee for manufacturing methamphetamine and theft. Mann says he will be extradited and then brought back to face charges for the accident once the investigation is completed.

"We don't know the results of the blood test yet," Mann said.  "Everything is in the infant stage here.  We have a lot of work to do -- search warrants on the vehicle, we're going to get the black box from his truck."

Police say the black box alerts investigators to when the brakes were applied and how fast the driver was going.

The speed limit is 45 mph and police believe Hurst was driving between 45-55 mph.

Police believe Hurst may have fallen asleep behind the wheel.

"He really doesn't know what happened prior to the accident," Mann said. "He thinks he might have dozed off or fell asleep."

Hurst, police say, works for a commercial roofing company and he drove that truck frequently.  The company rents the vehicles to haul material around.  The truck was empty at the time of the accident.

As investigators remained on the scene, Route 65 was closed in both directions from 6:50 a.m. to 10:12 a.m.

Traffic was backed up for miles.

"Even the alleyways, Merchant Street and Duss Avenue in Ambridge, totally at a standstill," said Dan Collins who was driving from Baden to Pittsburgh.  "It's almost brought everything to a stop this morning."

John Fye was also stuck in traffic.

"A good half hour till you start realizing it wasn’t going nowhere," Fye said.  "Until everybody started turning around, coming down here and then I saw the accident."

Police say Douds was driving and alone in the car.  They believe she was on her way to work.

"It's just a terrible tragedy.  Somebody going to work, gets killed, hit from behind, she was probably, didn't realize what happened," Mann said.

Police say the crash was so violent, Douds' trunk was pushed up to the backseat of her car and the entire rear end of her vehicle disintegrated.

"We don't believe there was any skid marks," Mann said.  "He never applied his brakes before the impact. If you see the size of the vehicle, it's a large truck so the momentum and the weight of the vehicle was just very violent."

A man who did not want to be identified said he saw the truck speeding.

"He was going pretty quickly. I didn’t even see brake lights when he went through the intersection.  Truthfully, I don’t know if it was red or green," the witness said. "I thought he blew a tire, and I'm thinking, 'Boy, that guy got good control over that truck,' and that’s when I start seeing the debris down in the intersection, that he must have hit somebody."