SOMERSET COUNTY, Pa. — Dozens of people were evacuated after a pickup truck caught fire inside the Allegheny Tunnel along the PA Turnpike on Thursday.
“You could see a cloud of smoke that was getting closer and closer and closer,” Viviana Altieri said.
She was on her way home to Swissvale from Philadelphia and was caught in the chaos.
“Almost like an avalanche that you see the snow coming towards you,” she said.
Altieri was among the roughly 150 people evacuated from the Allegheny Tunnel.
Officials say eighty vehicles were left stranded when a pickup truck caught fire inside the tunnel around 8:15 on Thursday night.
State police say the driver of the pickup suffered a medical emergency and was flown to a nearby hospital. The fire shut down the tunnel and forced drivers to detour more than a hundred miles out of the way.
Drivers finally returned to their vehicles around 2:45 Friday morning.
The Turnpike Commission issued a statement thanking drivers for their patience.
Officials haven’t given an update on the condition of the truck driver. Turnpike crews spent much of Friday surveying and cleaning up the area. The tunnel itself did not suffer any structural damage.
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