A tanker truck overturned crushing this car Saturday morning at the intersection of Route 8 and Dinnerbell Road. Three people were in the car at the time, the driver and his two young daughters.

PENN TWP — Four people — including two children — were injured late Saturday morning when a water tanker truck overturned onto a car at Route 8 and Dinnerbell Road, authorities said.

The 2013 Chevrolet Camaro was crushed but the driver, Kevin Koontz, 46, of Mars remained alert despite his injuries in the crash shortly after 11 a.m.

“He was conscious and talking,” said Penn Township Patrolman Dennis Crawford.

A hospital spokesman said Sunday night that Koontz was listed in fair condition.

Koontz's daughters, ages 7 and 9, who were riding in the car, were crying and screaming but they escaped with apparent minor injuries.

The truck driver also suffered only minor injuries, rescuers said.

A Butler Ambulance Service crew tended to Koontz before a medical helicopter flew him to a Pittsburgh hospital for further treatment.

Koontz' injuries were considered moderate to serious, said Middlesex Township police Sgt. Randy Ruediger, who assisted at the scene.

Police said the truck driver, Shawn Kepple, 30, of Manorville, Armstrong County, caused the crash. Possible factors, Crawford noted, are speed, mechanical failure and driver error.

Kepple was traveling north on Route 8 and was turning right onto Dinnerbell Road when he lost control of his rig.

The truck, owned by Indiana, Pa,-based Force Incorporated, was hauling a tanker full of fresh water that Kepple was taking to a shale fracking well site.

Police said it appeared Koontz was stopped at the traffic light westbound on Dinnerbell Road when the turning truck rolled onto his car that he bought only last month. The truck slid off the car, which likely spared the occupants more serious injuries, according to emergency crews that included Penn Township volunteer firefighters.

Ruediger said all of the occupants were out of their vehicles when he got there.

Henry Everetts was in his nearby house on Old Route 8 just 50 yards or so from the intersection but he didn't hear the crash. He realized something had happened when his wife mentioned all the people walking past their house.

He went to inspect for himself and noticed the two little girls, Koontz's daughters. “The younger one looked like she was in shock,” he said. “The older one was bawling her eyes out. She was scared, shaking.”

“The girls were pretty upset,” Ruediger agreed. “They were a little hysterical.”

Paramedics examined the children for injuries The girls' mother arrived later and drove them away.

Koontz was placed in a cervical neck collar and on a spineboard before being taken by ambulance to Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport in Penn Township where a LifeFlight helicopter flew him to Allegheny General Hospital.

Kepple was tended to at the scene for injuries, authorities said, but refused further medical treatment.

He talked to investigators about the wreck.

“He said he turned and he felt like he couldn't brake enough to make the turn,” Ruediger said, “and he lost control.”