NEW CUMBERLAND, PA – A serious crash on I-83 South brought traffic to a halt, leading to the demise of three construction workers at the incident scene. The deadly accident took place just before 3:30 a.m. on April 17 in Fairview Township, along Interstate 83, Pennsylvania State Police confirmed.
The immediate chain of events, as reported by authorities, involved a box truck colliding with a construction vehicle within an active work zone. Following the initial impact, the box truck continued onto the highway’s shoulder, where it struck three construction workers. All three were declared dead at the site.
In the aftermath, hundreds of road users were trapped on the highway between the Fairview and Fishing Creek exits. Police and accident reconstruction crews were swiftly dispatched to the crash site to assess the situation.
Among the stranded motorists was Tracy Kefauver, who reported being stuck in traffic for approximately three hours. Many other drivers were forced to detour onto back roads in the standstill traffic. Delivery driver Steve Darchicourt recounted that I-83 turned into a full-blown parking lot.
Shockingly, this fatal incident took place during National Work Zone Safety Week- raising awareness amongst the public about the importance of being mindful of highway construction crews.
Hector Morales, employed at a construction site not far from the accident, confessed how the disaster is plaguing his crew with worry due to the risks attached to their line of work.
Dave Thompson, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), revealed that the victims were agency contractors. Thompson mentioned that they were busy sealing highway cracks when the accident took place.
Regarding the overnight work, it was earlier announced in a news release issued by the Transportation Department that the lane closure job was being carried out by CriLon Corp. of Somerset. Representatives from CriLon have yet to comment on the event.