Traffic snarls can occur at just about any time of the day or night. A traffic jam can be a frustrating experience for many motorists who have appointments or who may just wish to get home after a tough day at work. However, when a driver fails to recognize that traffic is slowing on an interstate, the results can be devastating for others on the road.
A New York couple was traveling along Interstate 81 last Friday, en route to their granddaughter’s home near Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania when a traffic jam apparently led to a fatal accident. The couple had planned to attend a memorial service Saturday in Livingston County for the woman’s father who died in April after battling a serious illness.
The couple ran into traffic in Cumberland County near Silver Spring Township, Pennsylvania and slowed down for a traffic jam last Friday around 4:00 in the afternoon. Unfortunately, a trucker apparently did not recognize that a traffic jam was building along the interstate, according to preliminary reports about the truck accident that proved to be fatal for the grieving couple.
Officials do not believe that the trucker was able to slow down in time for the traffic jam. Authorities say that the tractor trailer slammed into the rear end of the couple’s sport utility vehicle.
The force of the truck accident continued to push the SUV forward, plowing the family vehicle into the rear of a second truck. That tractor trailer was also forced forward into a third rig.
The woman in the SUV who was in Pennsylvania for a memorial service for her father was killed instantly in the truck accident. Her dog was also killed. Her husband suffered severe injuries in the wreck and was taken to a hospital in Hershey, Pennsylvania, where state officials say the man died Sunday as a result of the truck accident.