Jackknifed truck blocks Chartiers road
An out-of-state truck driver following his GPS to get to Interstate 79 made an ill-advised turn Thursday morning, jackknifing his rig, almost hitting a house and blocking the intersection of Kings and McConnells Mills roads in Chartiers Township.
Francisco Mosquera-Leon, 54, of Louisville, Ky., just made a delivery for Scope Transportation to J&S Services on Route 519 in Westland, Mt. Pleasant Township, and was trying to get to get back to the highway about 9:20 a.m.
Officer John Hansen said Mosquera-Leon made the right turn onto McConnells Mills and then started up Kings Road. The driver apparently realized his mistake and then tried to back down the road, but jackknifed. The trailer slid through a yard, coming to rest about two feet from a house. The intersection was closed for about 90 minutes until a tow truck could straighten the rig and pull it out of the yard.
This is the second time in the last three months a truck driver following his GPS became stuck on McConnells Mills. In November, truck driver Howard C. Schlesinger was driving a truck hauling the new salad bar for the Giant Eagle at Strabane Square when he turned onto McConnells Mills from Old Hickory Ridge Road and got stuck. He told police he was following his GPS to get to Washington Avenue. Police believed he just put Washington into his GPS, instead of Washington Road, where the store is located.
Chief James Horvath said drivers of commercial trucks need to use some common sense instead of relying on the GPS.
“You are on a state road and then make a turn onto a rural road looking for the highway,” Horvath said. “You’d think that some common sense would kick in and the driver would realize he made a wrong turn.
“The truck almost damaged a home and did damage property,” he added
Officer Donald Cooper, the department’s motor carrier inspector, checked the truck. Mosquera-Leon will be cited for a weight violation because his rig was more than 10,000 pounds over the 10-ton limit on the road. Cooper said that citation carries an $800 fine. The driver also faces a citation for a brake violation. Cooper said the driver was allowed to continue to his destination.