HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Two people are dead after an early-morning crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Westmoreland County.
The crash took place around 2:30 a.m. Saturday in the eastbound lanes of I-76 near the Route 136 overpass in Hempfield Township.
According to the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office, Hunter R. Fronius of Connellsville was driving a Ford Explorer eastbound with passenger Raymond M. Foster of Connellsville.
The Ford failed to negotiate a left curve and left the south shoulder, the coroner’s office says. It went through a grassy embankment and collided with a bridge abutment, causing it to roll over onto its driver’s side.
Airbags were deployed, and neither Fronius nor Foster was wearing a seatbelt at the time, officials note.
Their cause of death was blunt force injuries, and the incident has been ruled accidental.
The Pennsylvania State Police New Stanton station is investigating.
A section of the Turnpike was closed until at least 7:15 a.m.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW