Deadly Rig Crash Raises Safety Concerns

After that, the rig flipped on an embankment and killed the driver. Firefighters teamed with a tow truck to steady the wrecked rig. Two and a half hours later, crews removed the victim from the mangled cab. Initially, the fatal crash only meant closing one lane of Route 924 but because it's so difficult to remove that rig, authorities had to close both lanes of the highway as well as the junction on Route 339.

Authorities realize this tragedy could have been even worse. "Where the truck stopped thankfully it didn't take out any other homes or businesses or buildings," said Sheppton-Oneida Volunteer Fire Company Chief Kyle Mummey.

Emergency responders have covered several crashes on Route 924 through the years. "There's been a few right here that I know of," said Cindy Arias of Shenandoah who stopped at the scene to witness the accident aftermath..

She and others who travel the highway say something needs to be done to make it safer. "I think they need to post signs... signs that are like closer like maybe a half-mile before," said Ms. Arias. Chief Mummey added, "It's a very treacherous stretch of roadway and you know any help with slowing these trucks down would probably bring some benefit." And perhaps prevent another tragedy from happening here again. "It's very sad," said Ms. Yotko.

PennDOT says it has not been contacted by anyone in the community about doing a traffic safety study, but would consider it if notified. The truck driver killed in the crash was a 70-year-old Whitehall man. State police were still withholding his name late Monday afternoon until his family could be notified.