Police: Winter conditions contributed to fatal pileup on I-80
Nov. 7—EAST LACKAWANNOCK TOWNSHIP — Snow and slush played a role in the seven-vehicle accident that took the life of a Rochester, N.Y., man Wednesday morning on Interstate 80 near the Mercer exit.
Anthony Mallory, 34, of Rochester, N.Y., was killed in the accident, which occurred about 5:45 a.m. near mile marker 14 of I-80 in East Lackawannock Township.
Mercer County Coroner John Libonati said Mallory, who was wearing a seat belt, died of blunt force trauma to the head and chest.
State police said the accident, which remains under investigation, involved four tractor-trailer trucks among seven total vehicles in the crash, and began when a tractor-trailer lost control of the vehicle on snow and slush in the right eastbound lane of I-80.
The first tractor-trailer came to a stop in the median-side ditch after skidding across the passing lane into the path of a second tractor-trailer, which drove into the right lane berm in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid the first tractor-trailer.
Both vehicles' trailers collided, causing the first tractor-trailer to jackknife and block both travel lanes. A third tractor-trailer skidded into the first tractor-trailer. Two passenger vehicles struck the third tractor-trailer's trailer in the right lane.
Mallory was a front-seat passenger in a Mercedes-Benz SUV, which hit the third tractor trailer's passenger-side door cabin area. A fourth tractor-trailer skidded into Mallory's vehicle, causing what state police characterized as major damage on all sides.
Police said Mallory was trapped in the SUV. After being freed by responders from East End Volunteer Fire Department, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The SUV's driver was helped by other motorists to escape the vehicle and was taken to AHN Grove City for evaluation.
Everyone in the other two passenger vehicles — state police did not say how many passengers were in the vehicles — sustained minor injuries and were wearing seat belts. State police did not release information on their treatment.
The second tractor-trailer's passenger and was taken to AHN Grove City for treatment of minor head injuries.
After the accident, PennDOT closed both lanes of I-80 eastbound between the Interstate 376 interchange (Exit 4) and the U.S. Route 19 interchange (Exit 15) for more than 10 hours before reopening about 4:20 p.m. The closure diverted traffic onto U.S. Route 62 into Hermitage toward Mercer.
The same general area of the interstate, just west of the Mercer exit, has been the scene of numerous weather-related crashes and fatalities in past winters, including an 85-vehicle pileup during a snow whiteout in December 2004 and a truck-SUV crash in February 2019 that killed two teenage girls from Hermitage and injured two others.
Wednesday's crash occurred during an overnight snowfall, the season's first outbreak of wintery, icy weather. The storm quickly dropped a couple inches of snow throughout much of Mercer County.
In addition to state police from the Mercer barracks, East End Volunteer Fire Department, and PennDOT, personnel from Mercer Auto Wreckers and Superior Ambulance EMS also responded to the accident.
