Man hospitalized following Morris Township tanker truck rollover
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
A tanker truck rolled over in the 5300 block of Prosperity Pike Tuesday afternoon.
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
Workers from out of town witnessed the crash and acted to assist the driver.
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
The driver of the truck was transported to Washington Hospital by ambulance.
Passersby rescued the driver of an overturned tanker truck Tuesday afternoon after his vehicle crashed in Morris Township, Washington County.
A group of workers for Texas-based 5F Freight witnessed the 1:45 p.m. accident that occurred in the 5300 block of Prosperity Pike and acted quickly to pull the man from the vehicle.
Mark Sanchez, of Denver, Colo., said the driver was headed north when he lost control of the vehicle, while Sanchez and his coworkers were driving south.
“He caught the edge (of the road) and then overcorrected, and then put it down,” Sanchez said.
The truck went across both lanes of traffic, landing on its side off the southbound lane.
The truck was facing south when it came to rest.
Sanchez said other motorists also stopped to assist the driver. They broke the windshield to begin pulling him out of the truck. According to Sanchez, the driver was initially unconscious but awakened after about five minutes.
“We actually ran to go to local houses here to get cell service. We didn’t have very good cell service,” Sanchez said.
Morris Township Fire Department Chief Dave Dietrich said they initially planned to transport the driver by helicopter to Pittsburgh, but instead he was taken to Washington Hospital via ambulance.
“He’s got some pretty good pelvic and leg and some rib injuries,” Dietrich said.
According to Dietrich, the driver was in and out of consciousness. He did not identify the driver.
State police and Ambulance and Chair also responded to the scene.