I-79 in Butler County shut down for hours after multiple crashes; 1 person dead

ZELIENOPLE, Pa. — State police say one person was killed, and nine others were taken to area hospitals to be treated for unknown injuries after a major pile-up of vehicles on Interstate 79 Friday morning.

Click here for more photos from the scene

The interstate was shut down in both directions from mile marker 80 to 88 for nearly 6 hours and reopened at 4 p.m.

State police tell Channel 11 that 25 vehicles were involved in crashes, and at least 20 more were disabled.

Viewer video sent to Channel 11 showed the early moments of what led to that pile-up.

“Oh my God! This is 79,” the woman said. “Holy — how do we get ourselves out of this?”

State police did not allow Drone 11 to fly over the scene until it was mostly cleared.

RAW: I-79 in Butler County shut down in both directions due to a multi-vehicle crash I-79 in Butler County is shut down in both directions due to a multi-vehicle crash. The closures are in place between exits 78 and 88 in both directions

“I didn’t know this was going on, and I had Channel 11 news on, so I said, ‘Come on, the dog needs to walk anyway. We’ll go down and see what’s going on,” said Bill Simpson, who lives off of Rock Lake Drive near I-79.

Channel 11’s Andrew Havranek spoke with several people who were stuck in the mess.

Kathleen Flanigan and her husband, Denny, were on their way through the area from Pittsburgh.

“It seemed pretty well normal and dry until we got to Cranberry, and then there was a lot of blowing snow,” Flanigan said.

Then they reached the pile-up. Flanigan thinks black ice was to blame.

“My husband was steering through the vehicles that were spinning and turning, and we were doing well. He was steering us through all the accidents. It was icy, and he was slipping,” she recalled. “He headed over to the left berm of the road, and that’s when somebody hit us from behind.”

A picture sent to Channel 11 by Flanigan showed how close they were to hitting a tanker truck in front of them after getting rear-ended.

“After we got hit, then we just heard a series of everybody smacking into one another,” Flanigan said.

Travis Walker was with his uncle on their way to Pymatuning. They got stuck on the interstate for three hours, not far from where the Flanigans were hit.

“My uncle, we couldn’t press the brakes, and when we got close to the car, he hurried up and just turned off into the median,” Walker recalled. “We had to get a tow truck to come pull us out.”

He also believes black ice is to blame.

“We hit ice and slid over to the left,” he said. “There was a truck in front of us, and we swerved away from them to not hit them and into thing, but yeah, we hit ice.”

State police said they are not sure how badly those nine people were injured.

Police have identified the person who died as Evan M Gingo, 18, of Pittsburgh.

Slippery Rock University said Gingo was a first-year exercise science major.

Vice President for Student Affairs David Wilmes released the following statement:

“We mourn this tragic loss and extend our deepest condolences to Evan’s family, friends, classmates, professors, and all who are affected during this difficult time. As a campus community, we join together in offering comfort and support to one another.

“As we grieve, please know that services are available to students, faculty, and staff. Students seeking support before Monday can submit a request for yourself or another student using our Care Report, which will be monitored all weekend. Starting Monday, students also can call the SRU Counseling Center at 724.738.2034 or the Dean of Students at 724.738.2121. Faculty and staff may access assistance through the State Employee Assistance Program at 800.692.7459.

“Butler County’s Center for Community Resources is also available for 24/7 support."

Due to winter weather, PennDOT implemented a speed limit restriction of 45 mph on I-79 northbound and southbound between PA 5 in Erie and the length of I-79 in Butler. The speed restriction has since been lifted.

State police continue to investigate.

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