Crash on I-70 in Washington County kills 2, seriously injures 1
Two people are dead and a third is seriously injured after a head-on crash on Interstate 70 in Washington County on Friday.
The crash shut down I-70 near the Claysville exit for hours, though it has since reopened in both directions.
Pennsylvania State Police said they were called to the scene around 5 p.m. on Friday. Troopers said their investigation showed that a Hyundai sedan on I-70 eastbound crossed the grass median and continued into oncoming traffic. Police said it collided head-on with a Ford SUV that was traveling westbound.
Both drivers were declared dead at the scene, police said, citing responding medical staff. A passenger in the SUV was taken to a hospital with serious injuries. A boy in the SUV was remarkably unhurt, police said.
Before the crash, police said there was a call about a car driving erratically on I-70 eastbound, and they're working to find out if it was the same car.
Trooper Rocco Gagliardi said they're looking at a few factors such as speed, time of day and weather.
"You know, it gets dark early, lot of rain, lot of slick roads out there. So always got to keep your eyes on a swivel on the road," Gagliardi said.
Gagliardi says the stretch of I-70 near the West Virginia border has seen an uptick in crashes in recent years. In May, barely a mile away, another car lost control, crossed the median and hit a tractor-trailer, killing a mother and her toddler.
He mentioned that more populated places like Allegheny County have jersey barriers, but once drivers get into more rural areas like Washington County, there are grass medians, which don't do much to prevent cars from crossing over.
The driver who crossed the median was identified by the coroner as 59-year-old Donna Havens of Wheeling, West Virginia. The coroner identified the driver of the SUV as 69-year-old William Magers from Glen Dale, West Virginia.
State police said collision analysis and reconstruction specialists are continuing to investigate along with forensic service units.