Construction worker Robert W. Marchetti, 63, of Drums, PA killed when a car driven by Peter J. Awadallah, 21, of Jackson, N.J., rammed his backhoe on the Pennsylvania Turnpike outside the Kittatinny Tunnel in Franklin County's Fannett Township

Gerald Licollari, 20, of Staten Island, New York, was flown to Holy Spirit Hospital, Camp Hill.

Construction worker killed in Pa. Turnpike crash identified

Updated on October 10, 2017

A construction worker was killed early Tuesday in an accident at the Kittatinny Tunnel of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.


By Matt Miller



State police have identified a Luzerne County man as the construction worker who was killed when a car rammed his backhoe on the Pennsylvania Turnpike early Tuesday.

Robert W. Marchetti, 63, of Drums, died in the 4:15 a.m. accident outside the Kittatinny Tunnel in Franklin County's Fannett Township.

Police said Marchetti was trying to drive his backhoe across the eastbound lanes when a 2007 Volkswagen Jetta car driven by Peter J. Awadallah, 21, of Jackson, N.J., struck the backhoe's rear bucket.

Marchetti was thrown from the backhoe, they said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Awadallah was flown to Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, police said, and his passenger, Gerald Licollari, 20, of Staten Island, N.Y., was taken to Holy Spirit Hospital. Police said both suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

The eastbound lanes of the turnpike were closed at the crash scene for about three hours. 

Robert W. Marchetti Oct. 10, 2017

 

Robert W. Marchetti, 63, of South Hunter Highway, Drums, died early Tuesday morning as a result of a construction workplace accident in Franklin County.
Tentative plans are being considered for a memorial visitation Thursday evening at the Butler Chapel of Krapf & Hughes Funeral Home Inc., with a funeral Mass on Friday morning at Good Shepherd Roman Catholic Church, Drums.
Finalized arrangements will appear in Thursday’s edition of the Standard-Speaker.

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Drums man killed in turnpike crash

A Drums man died in a crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Franklin County early this morning, state police said.

Robert W. Marchetti, 63, was attempting drive a backhoe loader from the median to the southern berm when a 2007 Volkswagen Jetta vehicle driven by Peter Awadallah, 21, of Jackson, New Jersey, struck the rear bucket of the loader at 4:15 a.m., police said.

Marchetti was thrown from the loader, police said. Franklin County Chief Deputy Coroner Paul T. Reed pronounced him dead at the scene, police said.

Awadallah was flown to Hershey Medical Center and a passenger in his vehicle, Gerald Licollari, 20, of Staten Island, New York, was flown to Holy Spirit Hospital, Camp Hill.

The crash happened at milepost 197.4 in Fannett Twp.