CLEARFIELD – Details about a tractor-trailer that crashed into three Clearfield homes were still hard to come by Wednesday afternoon, but the driver of the truck was freed a little more than three hours after the incident.
The truck hit the homes, along state Route 153/U.S. Route 322/Race Street at about 5 a.m. Wednesday, shearing off the porch of one and traveling through another home that hit a third house.
Emergency responders from Lawrence Township and Clearfield Borough were on the scene Wednesday, as were units from as far away as Jefferson and Centre counties. A Cambria County group was called in to ensure the house was stable enough to free the driver from the wreckage.
The driver was taken from the home at about 10:20 a.m. Wednesday, but police have yet to release information on his condition or his name. Lawrence Township Police Chief Jeff Fink said the driver was from out of state.
Fink also said that speed was a contributor to the accident.
“We do know he was traveling at a high rate of speed,” he said.
Police do not know, however, why the driver was going so fast as he traveled toward Clearfield. Police are considering factors such as mechanical failure or driver error.
Clearfield County Commissoner Mike Lytle was on the scene Wednesday morning, and he said the county received a fantastic response from both local and non-local emergency crews.
“It shows wonderful cooperation by all the region’s emergency people.”
Lytle said paperwork is being filed to declare the site a disaster area. This designation will free up additional funding to aid in clean-up.
Clearfield County Commissioner Chairman Rex Read was also at the scene with Lytle to ensure emergency workers had everything they needed. He said, “It’s obvious from the response from all these volunteer fire companies the dedication they have.”
He said that although the incident was a difficult one, it was promising that only one resident suffered minor injuries and those suffered by the driver.
“It’s tragic, but it’s kind of amazing at this point there’s only one individual seriously hurt.”
GantDaily will provide more information on the incident as it becomes available.