Pickup and Tanker Collide

CHERRY TOWNSHIP - Four people were transported to a local hospital after they were injured Saturday in a collision between a water tanker truck and a pickup truck in an accident-prone section of U.S. Route 220 in Cherry Township, an assistant Dushore fire chief said.

The tanker truck was transporting fresh water at the time of the crash, said John Yonkin, an assistant fire chief with the Dushore fire company.

The accident occurred in a series of "S curves" located about a half-mile north of the Dushore line, which is an area that has been prone to accidents this year, Yonkin said.

Dushore Fire Chief Scott Hope had said in October that the state police had investigated more than a dozen accidents in that location in the previous six months.

The state police have said they suspect there is a substance on the roadway at that site that causes the road to become unusually slippery when wet.

"Any water makes the surface bad," even on a cold day like Saturday, Yonkin said on Saturday.
"When we got here, (the roadway) was snow-covered," Yonkin continued, describing the accident scene on Saturday. "It was very slippery. We need to have the road fixed. It's dangerous."

The tanker truck was traveling north on Route 220 at the time of the crash, while the pickup truck was traveling south on Route 220, Yonkin said.

He said he did not know how the collision occurred.

Two people who were trapped in the pickup truck had to be extricated by emergency responders using power tools, Yonkin said. The two were transported to an area hospital, he said.

He said he could not say how badly they were injured.

The driver of the tanker truck suffered minor injuries, and was also transported to an area hospital, Yonkin said.

There was a third person in the pickup truck, but Yonkin said he didn't know the condition of that individual.

The pickup truck was severely damaged, Yonkin said.

The tanker truck was not drivable after the crash, he said. The water did not leak from the tanker truck, he said.

The accident was reported at 1:26 p.m., according to a 911 dispatcher.
No information was available from the state police about the accident on Saturday, including the identities of the people involved in the crash, or how the accident occurred.

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