What a horrendous crash Friday evening on Pennsylvania Route 422 — New Castle Road — in Franklin Township.

A motorcyclist with a passenger was behind a large truck when he attempted to pass on the right shoulder, according to a witness. The maroon Harley struck the side of the truck, skidded off the highway and slammed into a junk refrigerator sitting on the curb awaiting trash pickup.

STAT MedEvac helicopters rushed the driver and passenger to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-Presbyterian in Oakland.

The crash near Case’s Beer Distributing occurred about 4 p.m., causing huge traffic tie-ups in both directions as the workweek for many was coming to a close. The tie-up, and the impatience born of such tie-ups, probably contributed to a three-car crash less than an hour later a few miles west on the same highway. The second wreck happened just moments after Route 422 reopened to traffic.

Not clear yet is why the motorcyclist tried to pass. The truck apparently was braking to turn right. Did the biker not see the brake lights or turning signal? Was traffic going too fast? We’ll learn more details as they’re uncovered by investigators.

Meantime, we suspect a condition that will only worsen with the passing of time, and should be given thorough consideration in balance with other regional planning and dynamics.

Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commissioner raised turnpike fees by 6 percent, effective Jan. 1. That’s no surprise. Turnpike tolls have gone up every year for a decade.

Are the tolls too steep? You betcha — and that’s a debate for another editorial. Let’s focus today instead on what the high tolls are doing to our collective driving habits.

With ever-increasing regularity, residents of northern Butler County and the adjoining regions are abandoning the turnpike when driving east or southeast. Instead, they’re using Route 422. Doing so adds a couple miles to the trip but cuts nearly $40 in toll fees for a round trip between the Cranberry and Breezewood exits.

But here’s the rub: State Route 422 is not the Pennsylvania Turnpike. There are two-lane sections, passing zones and traffic slowing to turn at intersections and private drives.

There are posted speed limits far below the standard 65 mph you’d expect on a high-speed, multilane highway.

There’s municipal trash pickup along Route 422, apparently.

This is not to say that the high tolls had a direct impact on Friday’s tragic wreck. But it does not take any formal traffic survey to surmise that the velocity and volume of traffic are both rising and will continue to do so.

Given the mixed message of interspersed two- and four-lane sections of Route 422, combined with the increasing Turnpike tolls as incentive to find another way, we can expect growing numbers of motorists to make use of Route 422 as a long-distance alternative route. That prospect holds only two clear options: Start planning and financing the improvements for this vital highway or expect more tragic wrecks to occur with regularity.