Tractor Trailer Crash Closes Turnpike for Seven Hours

Friday morning got off to a nightmarish start for travelers on the Pennsylvania Turnpike after a crash involving three tractor trailers forced officials to close the entire eastbound lane after the Bensalem exit for seven hours. Early reports said that a passenger car was also involved, but a turnpike spokesperson said that was not true.

According to information provided by the spokesperson, the multi-vehicle accident occurred at approximately 6 a.m. at milepost 351.7 eastbound, just past exit 351. The collision pushed blocks from the concrete median into the westbound lanes, reducing traffic to one lane.

One trailer was hauling steel coils, another was hauling fertilizer and the third was empty and overturned during the accident.  Two drivers were transported to a local hospital for treatment.

According to a post by Steve Vernik on the Warminster Patch Facebook page, one of the drivers was operating a truck for Safe Paw Ice Melt. Two trucks collided on the highway, and the ice melt truck driver could not stop the vehicle in time to avoid the crash. He was taken to the hospital with a leg injury and is recovering following surgery.

"He barely made it through alive," wrote Vernik. "He had an angel."

The eastbound turnpike re-opened at approximately 1 p.m. Maintenance crews will close the left lanes in both directions Friday from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. to replace the damaged median barrier, according to the spokesperson.