Washington, PA : An elderly Burgettstown man was killed and another Burgettstown area man was seriously injured in a two-vehicle crash on May, Thursday, 11th 2017

An elderly Burgettstown man was killed and another Burgettstown area man was seriously injured in a two-vehicle crash that closed a section of Smith Township Road (Route 18) for three hours Thursday afternoon.

Benjamin Strain, 79, was pronounced dead at the scene about an hour after the crash that was reported at 1:11 p.m. Strain was driving north when his pickup truck crossed the center line into the southbound lanes, hitting a pickup truck driven by Mark Gibbons, 58, of Paris. The impact caused the southbound truck to spin around three times, said Smith police Chief Bernie LaRue. Strain’s truck spun once before crashing off the road.

A witness traveling southbound behind the other truck was able to tell police what happened, LaRue said.

Gibbons was taken to Weirton (W.Va.) Medical Center for treatment. Police at the scene said he was talking to rescuers.

“There are not a lot of crashes along this stretch of the road, like some of the other areas,” LaRue said.

Firefighters rerouted traffic off Route 18 at Skyline Drive and also at Atlas Cherry Valley and Covered Bridge roads. Police said the road reopened at 4:20 p.m.

The cause and manner of Strain’s death is pending an autopsy, said Washington County Coroner Tim Warco.

Strain is the 11th person to die on Washington County roads this year. Also assisting at the scene were Mt. Pleasant Township police, Washington County Sheriff’s department and firefighters from Slovan, Midway and Mt. Pleasant Township. Also at the scene were crews from Ambulance and Chair and Fort Cherry Ambulance. The state Department of Transportation helped to clear debris from the road.

Source :
Burgettstown man killed in Route 18 crash