Official: Cement mixer crash Tuesday on I-79 looked fatal but resulted in minor injuries
A fire official said he thought they had responded to a fatal crash when a car was trapped underneath the rear axle of a cement mixer Tuesday, Nov. 10, on Interstate 79. However, the driver of the car was already out of the vehicle, leaning against a guardrail.
Before the crash that backed up traffic around the area, the cement mixer was parked along I-79 with a flat tire, according to Chris Snedeker, the training coordinator for Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company.
When the cement mixer pulled back onto the road, it was rear-ended by the other vehicle involved at about 4 p.m. near the 82 mile marker heading south in Cranberry Township. Snedeker said the car went so far under the mixer that it dragged the car until it was able to pull over.
The driver of the vehicle was taken by ambulance to Allegheny General Hospital with minor injures, according to dispatch recordings.
The closure caused heavy traffic on southbound Route 19, according to a Facebook post by the Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company. The southbound lanes of I-79 reopened around 6:30 p.m.
Harmony Fire District and Cranberry Township EMS also responded to the crash.
