4 seriously injured in wreck
PENN TWP — A driver admitted to using opioids shortly before a three-vehicle crash Wednesday morning that seriously injured four people, Penn Township police said.
Medical helicopters flew all four to Pittsburgh hospitals following the 7:30 a.m. crash at Route 8 and Airport Road.
The crash initially closed both southbound lanes. Emergency crews closed all lanes in both directions around 8 a.m., causing traffic to back up for some distance.
Normal traffic was restored around 9 a.m.
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Among the crash victims were a teacher at nearby Penn Christian Academy and her husband.
As of late Wednesday afternoon, Zachary Martin, 29, of Penn Township, and wife, Jennifer Martin, 28, a passenger in a Ford minivan he was driving, were listed in critical condition at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh.
Police believe Martin was driving his wife to her job at the school.
Also in critical condition at Allegheny General Hospital was Kim Werner, 53, of Allison Park, Allegheny County, who was a passenger in a Cadillac driven by Charles Williams, 59, of Butler. Werner and Williams were among those transported to Pittsburgh via helicopter.Williams' condition was unknown as of late Wednesday afternoon.Police said a third vehicle involved in the crash was a Ford Transit van owned by The Arc of Butler County. A caretaker and three clients traveling in that van were not injured, but were transported to Butler Memorial Hospital for evaluation per The Arc's policy.“We're still trying to figure out what happened and who's at fault,” police Sgt. Cheryl Cranmer said about 90 minutes after the accident. “We're trying to determine what color the (traffic) lights were and when.”Williams told first responders that he used opioids “sometime prior to the crash,” Cranmer said.Authorities said it was not known if that was a factor in the crash.
Cranmer said drugs were discovered in Williams' car, and authorities are continuing their investigation.Cranmer further noted police were seeking a search warrant that would allow them to secure a blood draw from Williams for toxicology testing.According to investigators, Williams was heading southbound on Route 8, The Arc van was stopped or slowed on West Airport Road, and the Martins' minivan was on East Airport Road and attempting to cross Route 8.The Martins along with Williams were trapped in their vehicles following the collision.“(Firefighters) had to take off the roof to reach them,” Cranmer said.Capt. Tim Tabisz of the Middlesex Township volunteer Fire Company said firefighters used extrication tools to rescue the occupants entrapped in the vehicles. He could not say how long it took crews to free the occupants.“But it was not a crazy long time,” Tabisz said, adding that all of those injured remained conscious.
Williams, Werner and the Martins were taken by ambulance to the nearby Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport, where they were flown to the hospitals.All four occupants in The Arc van and the driver of the car were taken to Butler Memorial Hospital. The extent of their injuries was not known. Police did not immediately release their names late Wednesday afternoon.Middlesex Township police assisted at the scene along with Penn Township and Butler Township Fire District 3 volunteer firefighters, Butler Ambulance Service, Quality Ambulance and LifeFlight.LifeFlight is a tenant at the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport.
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