JACKSON TWP — Emergency responders Friday had to scramble to get to two unrelated car accidents on Interstate-79.

The first, on I-79 southbound in Muddy Creek Township sent a woman to the hospital after firefighters had to cut off the door of her car.

The second, about 30 minutes later, claimed the lives of a 63-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman.

They have been identified by police as Russell Reed and Amy Horn, both of Johnstown, Cambria County.

Police said neither was wearing a seat belt and both were ejected from their Ford SUV when it spun out and rolled over multiple times around 9:30 a.m. The vehicle was traveling northbound and had just gone under the overpass for Little Creek Road when it lost control, police said at the scene.

No other vehicles were involved.

Police said they still had to determine who was driving the vehicle and a cause for the wreck.

Police and firefighters closed the highway to all northbound traffic between exit 87 for Zelienople and exit 88 near Seneca Valley High School for about three hours while a state police reconstructionist was called in to investigate the scene. When the investigation was finished a tow truck was called in and the road was reopened around 12:30 p.m.

Several passing motorists who saw the accident pulled over and tried to lend a hand in any way they could.

Ray Morgano, a volunteer firefighter with the Marion Township department, directed traffic around the wreckage, making sure that passing cars didn’t interfere with the scene, until emergency responders arrived.

“I was on my way home from work and the post office and, being a firefighter, I stopped to see if there was anything I could do,” he said.

Harmony Fire District captain Josh Rader said the department appreciates citizens offering to help in an emergency situation.

Unfortunately, there was not much responders could do for the two victims.

“It was a little tough. It’s never easy to see someone in that kind of condition,” he said.

The Harmony department had one truck already assisting the Portersville Muddy Creek Township Fire Department with the first accident.

A second truck was en route to that accident, but was diverted to the fatal one, said assistant chief Brian Dambaugh.

“We had to juggle resources” he said.

At the first accident, firefighters cut the door off a silver sedan to free the driver, Kelly M. Lott, 28, of Harrisville. She was transported by Butler EMS to a nearby hospital with moderate injuries, Dambaugh said. The car had gone about 50 feet off the road into an embankment. State police also were investigating that crash.

Traffic heading northbound took Route 528 as a detour route during the closure. While some traffic traveled on Route 19 northbound, other drivers went through Route 528 toward Route 68.

Paving projects taking place on Route 19 north of Zelienople were temporarily stopped to allow the excess traffic to go through.

“The problem with that was traffic backed up through Zelienople,” Jackson Township Police Chief Terry Seilhamer said. “We had traffic backed up from the interstate all on Route 68 and Route 19 all the way up through Little Creek Road northbound.”

Route 19 was also backed up southbound about 1.5 miles, Seilhamer said.

“Fortunately, we had a bunch of officers available because this was the last day of school at Seneca Valley,” he said.

Zelienople police and fire crews were directing traffic through Zelienople’s Main Street. Route 19 runs directly through the borough’s downtown area. “Traffic was pretty backed up,” said Cindy Edwards, administrative assistant for the borough police department.

Traffic resumed normal flow shortly before 1 p.m. after the accident reconstructionists finished their work.

Eagle staff writer Amerigo Allegretto contributed to this report.