Electrical Conduit Goes Through Windshield, Kills Truck Driver in Pennsylvania Turnpike Tunnel

An electrical conduit collapsed onto a tractor-trailer that was traveling through a highway tunnel in Pennsylvania, killing the driver and causing a major traffic closure that lasted into the morning.

The big rig was heading southbound through the Lehigh Tunnel of the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike around 6 p.m. Wednesday when the metal conduit from the ceiling area crashed through the vehicle's windshield, Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim said.

The driver, identified as Howard Sexton of Mickleton, New Jersey, continued through the tunnel, despite being struck in the head, before pulling over on the shoulder of the roadway, Pennsylvania State Police said.

Several other vehicles sustained minor damaged by the debris left by the wreck, police said. The southbound lanes of the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike's tunnel were shut down shortly afterward.

During their investigation, troopers found the 70-year-old big rig driver dead behind the wheel, police said.

The truck apparently had coasted to a stop after riding along the guardrail, Sexton's wife of 25 years, Michelle, and other family members told NBC10. The coroner told the family it appeared Sexton died instantly.

Sexton's wife became suspicious when her husband didn't call Wednesday night to see how her day went. East Greenwich police delivered the tragic news later that night.

Sexton, who has grown children, had driven for Raymour & Flanigan for the past 19 years, his family said. He had planned on retiring this summer.

Drivers were detoured southbound between the Mahoning Valley (Exit 74) and Lehigh Valley (Exit 56) interchanges until around 8 a.m. Turnpike electricians worked overnight to repair the conduit.

As repairs and inspections on the southbound tunnel continued into the afternoon, the turnpike diverted southbound traffic into the northbound tunnel tube. Drivers in both directions should expect to slow down and stay in their lane, the turnpike said.

The hope is to reopen the southbound tunnel for the evening rush, the turnpike said.

A turnpike spokesman says it's the only tunnel in the system in which electrical conduit is directly above drivers. In older tunnels, the pipes are located in a parallel maintenance tunnel.

An autopsy is planned for Friday to determine Sexton's cause of death.

Metal Through Windshield Kills Driver in Pa. Turnpike Tunnel

 

So very sad.