WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP – A three-vehicle crash claimed the life of a Punxsutawney man Tuesday night in Washington Township, Jefferson County.
According to a news release issued by DuBois-based state police, the crash occurred at 9:36 p.m. on Interstate 80 westbound at mile-marker 94.8.
State police say a tractor-trailer driven by David E. Wood, 70, of Winfield, Ill., was traveling in the right-hand lane at a “very slow speed” due to a backlog of traffic from a construction zone ahead.
A Chevrolet Silverado driven by Scott E. Smith, 52, of Punxsutawney and a tractor-trailer driven by Samuel A. Addo, 66, of Joliet, Ill., approached Wood’s tractor trailer at a higher speed.
State police say Addo was unable to slow down in time and struck the rear of Smith’s vehicle, causing it to spin approximately 180 degrees and strike the rear of Wood’s trailer.
Addo’s tractor-trailer then reportedly jack-knifed, and crushed Smith’s vehicle between the two tractor-trailers.
Smith was extricated from his vehicle by mechanical means and succumbed to his injuries on-scene. He was pronounced dead by the Jefferson County Coroner.
Addo sustained minor injuries; Wood wasn’t injured in the crash, according to the release.
