Woman describes moments before 25-vehicle crash on Interstate 79 that killed 1 and injured 9

An 18-year-old young man from Pittsburgh was killed and nine other people were injured after a massive pileup on Interstate 79 in Jackson Township, Butler County, on Friday morning. 

At least 25 vehicles were involved in multiple crashes due to weather and 20 others got stuck on the interstate, authorities said. Evan Gingo, a Slippery Rock University student, died in one of the crashes, which closed Interstate 79 for hours in both directions. 

Cassandra Summerill, of Harmony, narrowly escaped the mile-long incident on the northbound side of the interstate. 

"It was just dominoes. It's one after another," Summerill told KDKA.

The roads were fine on her way home to Harmony from Cranberry on Friday morning. However, that all changed when she went around a bend and reached the top of a hill.

"As soon as I hit my brakes, they locked up. It was a solid sheet of ice," Summerill said.

She slid down as about 10 cars went sideways and crashed in front of her. She said she came to a stop and avoided the wreckage. 

"All you could just hear was boom after boom after boom of all the cars," Summerill said.

In the mix of the crashes was a tractor-trailer that jackknifed across the interstate.

"At the very last second before he hit us, he was able to veer off into the middle grassy median," Summerill said.

Within a few minutes of the near-miss, Summerill made a quick decision, with her brother and 1-year-old in the small car with her.

"We have to get out of here, like we're going to get killed," Summerill said.

With car parts all over the road and vehicles completely turned around, she found a gap to get off Interstate 79. Summerill was lucky, just like Wendy Graff, who was with her husband near the back of the incident.

"The cars are pinned to end to each other. They can't open their doors. They had to use the jaws of life to get a gentleman out," Graff said.

Stuck on Interstate 79 for about three hours, Graff watched first responders tend to each vehicle involved, as she processed the horrifying ordeal.

"It was definitely the scariest I've ever been," Graff said. "I just kept telling my husband thank you for being such a wonderful driver."

Still shaken up, both families are grateful to be alive, knowing others had it much worse.

"I don't know how or why we were one of the only ones to make it out," Summerill said. "I feel very sorry for all the other people that were involved."

Driver describes scariest moment during crash

Chuck Dorgan, of New York, was one of the 20-plus vehicles involved in the crashes. He said the scariest moment wasn't when he crashed his truck. It was what happened after.

"There's no car tires screeching," he said. "It's just cars crunching. It's like it was an ice rink. It was dead silent. All you can hear is cars smashing into each other. It was really an odd feeling."

Dorgan said his vehicle was among the first to crash. He quickly got out of his vehicle to check on another driver and for his own safety.

"The girl from the tow truck was yelling at me to get back in my truck. And I'm like, I ain't getting back in my truck. I see this freaking 18-wheeler, jackknifing, coming towards us. I'm going over behind this other 18-wheeler. I'm not sitting in my truck because that thing is going to total me."

The interstate looked passable, but Dorgan said it was full of black ice. He continued driving after he crashed, to his home in New York.