UPDATE: 9-year-old girl, 2 central Pa. UPS drivers among 5 killed in Pa. Turnpike crash
Hours after a “chain-reaction” crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike killed five people and injured 60 more, officials at the parcel delivery company UPS have announced that two of their drivers are among the dead.
The drivers, a spokeswoman said, were both in a tractor-trailer traveling out of the company’s Harrisburg operating center.
“Sadly, UPS confirms the identities of two of our drivers who are victims of this tragic incident,” a statement from the company reads. “Our drivers will be missed and our thoughts and prayers go out to their families.”
The drivers were identified as 53-year-old Daniel Kepner, who worked with UPS for 5 years, and 48-year-old Dennis Kehler, who worked with the company for 28 years.
Company officials said they are “cooperating with authorities in the investigation.”
And the UPS statement came about the same time that investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board arrived in Westmoreland County, where they will be studying the scene for about a week.
The goal is to determine what happened on the Turnpike’s westbound lane near mile marker 86.1 in Mount Pleasant Township so that recommendations can be made to lessen the chances that it will happen again, said Jennifer Homendy an NTSB board member.
Homendy appeared before reporters Sunday evening for a news conference, which was broadcast online by Pittsburgh’s KDKA-TV.
“I’d like to extend our deepest sympathies to those who lost loved ones in this tragic event,” she said before addressing the NTSB’s work in the region.
Their presence is in response to a crash that took place on the Turnpike about 3:33 a.m. Sunday, when a bus filled with passengers was traveling downhill, and its driver was unable to negotiate a turn and hit an embankment, causing the vehicle to roll, state police have said.
The bus rolled and was then struck by three tractor-trailers and a passenger vehicle, police said.
Five people were killed and about 60 others were injured and transported to three area hospitals for treatment, according to authorities.
According to a doctor at one of those hospitals, some of the patients already have been treated and released. Others with more serious injuries were in surgery Sunday afternoon.
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Homendy said it’s been reported that the bus — a 52-passenger motor coach owned and operated by Z&D Tour inc. of Rockaway, New Jersey — was traveling from Rockaway to Cincinnati at the time of the crash. That information will be confirmed as part of the investigation, she said.
The NTSB — a federal agency charged with investigating major transportation incidents — will conduct an investigation that is separate from those already being led by police and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Homendy said.
“We just arrived on scene a few hours ago. Our team is still en route,” she said, explaining that a total of 20 NTSB investigators will be on scene collecting evidence for seven to 10 days. “We don’t have a lot of information to share at this time. We will over the next few days.”
With that said, Homendy made clear that the NTSB will not “be determining the probable cause of the accident nor will we be speculating” during that time. It could be 12 to 24 months before a full report on the crash is released, she said.
While in Westmoreland county, NTSB investigators will be looking at roadway design, driver performance and mechanical aspects of the vehicle, as well as other factors, Homendy said.
Drones may be used to visualize the scene, she said. It was not immediately clear if any portion of the Turnpike will need to be closed during the investigation, she said.
“I don’t anticipate that to be the case,” Homendy said. “Could it happen? It could.”
Portions of the Turnpike’s east- and westbound lanes were closed from shortly after the early morning crash until after 6 p.m. Sunday evening.
Over the next several months, NTSB investigators will work to collect additional information, including driver history, history of the company, vehicle inspection data and driver toxicology reports, she said.
Homendy also pointed out that the NTSB will deploy its family assistance team, which works with families after accidents, providing needed resources.
Additional information likely will be shared at an NTSB news conference sometime tomorrow, Homendy said, adding that details about the press briefing will be announced on the agency’s Twitter page.
READ MORE:
- Fatal Pa. Turnpike crash occurred after bus hit embankment, struck from behind by trucks: police
- Many bus passengers from Pa. Turnpike crash treated, released
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