Wintry weather triggers crashes, some power won't be restored until 11 p.m. Friday
Emergency crews stayed busy Thursday night rescuing motorists who crashed or became stranded as a mix of freezing rain and snow made travel hazardous.
“Most areas had the wintry mix, freezing rain with a little bit of sleet and snow,” said meteorologist Bill Modzelewski of the National Weather Service in Moon Township. “Most places got a tenth of an inch or less, mostly on elevated surfaces like trees and power lines.”
There were reports of icy road conditions in Westmoreland County, with Rostraver particularly affected.
Beginning shortly after 5 p.m., Rostraver Central Fire Department responded to a series of three wrecks in the township within an hour, including a two-vehicle collision on Interstate 70 eastbound, near the Arnold City exit. Traffic was temporarily restricted to one lane, but there were no injuries, according to a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher.
Three motorists were taken to an area hospital for treatment following a crash involving two passenger cars and a tractor-trailer, on Route 51 near Mt. Pleasant Road. The dispatcher described the injuries as minor. One motorist had to be freed from the wreckage with a “Jaws of Life” tool.
The Rostraver firefighters also responded to a wreck in the 1800 block of Rostraver Road, which resulted in one injury, according to a report on the department’s Facebook page.
No one was injured when a truck ended up over a hillside at Mamont and Sardis roads in Murrysville.
In Allegheny County, a fallen tree triggered closure of Center-New Texas Road, between New Texas and Beech roads in Plum, according to county dispatchers. Residents reported power was out in that area.
A tree toppled, pulling utility lines down on an unoccupied vehicle, on Cornelia Street at Tinstman Avenue in North Versailles.
Some power outages remain
Duquesne Light reported about 14,600 customers without power at 11:30 p.m. At the same time, 0utages were affecting 1,945 First Energy customers in Allegheny County, 4,023 in Armstrong County and 217 in Westmoreland County.
On its outage website, First Energy advised that about 55 customers in Westmoreland’s Allegheny Township might not see their power restored until 11 p.m. Friday.
Some of the utility’s Allegheny County customers, including about 890 in McCandless, also could be without power until 11 p.m. Friday.
Multiple trees were down at Richard and Harmony roads in McCandless, county spokeswoman Amie Downs said.
In Butler County, about 530 Winfield customers could be left in the dark until 11 p.m. Friday.
Thursday evening into Friday morning, area snow accumulations of up to 2 inches were expected, possibly as much as 3 to 4 inches in the eastern ridges of Westmoreland County, Modzelewski said.
“Accumulating snow should be over by sunrise,” he said.
Staff writer Mike Divittorio contributed. Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff at 724-836-6622, jhimler@tribweb.com or via Twitter @jhimler_news.
