Lewistown man among crash victims

Local UPS driver killed in Sunday’s turnpike incident

GREENSBURG -- A Lewistown man working for the shipping company UPS is among the five fatalities in an early Sunday morning muliple-vehicle crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Mount Pleasant Township, Westmoreland County, according to a report from the Westmoreland County Coroner's Office.

Coroner Kenneth A. Bacha identified 53-year-old Daniel J. Kepner among the five killed in the crash. Kepner was in a tractor-trailer working as an employee of UPS at the time of the crash.

The other deceased individuals, according to the coroner, were 58-year-old bus driver Shuang Qing Feng, of Flushing, New York, 35-year-old bus passenger Eileen Zelis Aria, of Bronx, New York, 9-year-old bus passenger Jaremy Vazquez, of Brooklyn, New York, and 48-year-old UPS employee Dennis L. Kehler, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

UPS public relations manager Kristen A. Petrella said in an emailed statement to the Uniontown Herald-Standard that Kepner and Kehler were together in a tractor-trailer vehicle out of a UPS operating center in Harrisburg. It was not immediately clear which man was driving the vehicle at the time of the crash.

Kehler and Kepner had contributed 28 and five years of service, respectively, Petrella said.

"Our drivers will be missed and our thoughts and prayers go out to their families," Petrella said.

According to the coroner's office, autopsies were scheduled to be performed Monday and official determination of causes of death are pending autopsy results, toxicology results and further investigation into the accident. The coroner's office said toxicology results would not be available for several weeks.

The incident occurred at 3:33 a.m. Sunday in the westbound lanes of the Pennsylvania Turnpike near mile marker 86.1, approximately 30 miles east of Pittsburgh.

The Pennsylvania State Police said in a press release issued Monday that a 2005 tour bus driven by Feng was traveling in the left lane and struck the center barrier. The bus then veered to the right, crossed the roadway, traveled up a steep embankment and rolled over, coming to rest on its left side. The bus then slid back onto the roadway and impacted the center barrier a second time before coming to rest across both travel lanes with the bottom of the bus facing oncoming traffic. Police said Feng was ejected from the bus during the crash.

Police said the underside of the bus was then struck by a FedEx tractor-trailer, which caused Aria and a 9-year-old girl identified by the coroner as Vazquez to be ejected from the bus. The bus was then struck by a UPS tractor-trailer occupied by Kehler and Kepner. A Mercedes passenger vehicle then collided with the side of Kehler and Kepner's tractor-trailer before being struck by a second UPS tractor-trailer, causing the Mercedes to be pinned between the two tractor-trailers.

Police said the occupants of the Mercedes and the second UPS tractor-trailer were not injured.

"It was kind of a chain reaction type of crash," said Trooper Steve Limani, public relations officer for Pennsylvania State Police Troop A.

The five deceased individuals were all pronounced dead at the scene.

The investigation by Pennsylvania State Police New Stanton continues. A state police spokesman told the Associated Press on Sunday that the investigation could take weeks or months to conclude. The Red Cross is assisting patients and their families at the hospitals.

Limani said approximately 60 people were injured in the crash. Limani said none of the victims who had survived as of Sunday afternoon faced life-threatening injuries, though two remained in critical condition.

The surviving bus passengers and the occupants of the FedEx tractor-trailer were taken to several hospitals in western Pennsylvania.

There were 31 victims transported to Excela Frick Hospital in Mount Pleasant, Excela Health spokesperson Robin Jennings said, including nine patients younger than 18. Of those 31 victims, 27 were treated and released in stable condition as of Sunday afternoon while one was transferred to UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and three were transferred to UPMC Presbyterian in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh.

One child at UPMC Children's Hospital was in good condition; two adults at Presbyterian were in good condition; and one adult at Presbyterian was in fair condition as of Sunday evening, according to UPMC.

There were 18 victims transported to UPMC Somerset consisting of 12 adults and six teens and children, according to UPMC Somerset director of corporate communications Sarah Deist. All 18 patients were released, Deist said Sunday morning.

Eleven victims were transported to Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, according to hospital president Dr. Mark Rubino, who said those victims' ages ranged from 15 to 67. Rubino said Sunday afternoon that two patients were still in the operating room at that time, with four remaining under the hospital's care and five discharged.

The crash resulted in the closure of an 86-mile stretch of the turnpike from the New Stanton to Breezewood exits. The Turnpike was opened to traffic both directions Sunday night. The eastbound detour at the New Stanton interchange had been lifted Sunday afternoon, while the westbound closure remained until Sunday night.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.

"We were told by some of the people who were driving that the weather did start to change, there was some precipitation that was coming down," Limani said. "The weather could have played a factor, but we're so early in our investigation right now that it's hard to try to pinpoint anything specific."

Craig Shuey, chief operating officer of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, said road crews had treated the roadway from 9 p.m. Saturday night on, dropping salt and cinder every hour as necessary.

"Our hearts go out to everybody here and around the world that's been affected by this crash," Shuey said.

Limani said the bus was traveling from Rockaway, New Jersey to Cincinnati, adding that it was a Z&D Tour Inc. bus. Z&D Tour is based in Rockaway, according to U.S. Department of Transportation records.

A majority of the bus travelers were from different countries and spoke limited or no English, Limani said, noting that some spoke Japanese and others spoke Spanish.

The American Red Cross was providing assistance and resources to those impacted by the crash.

"We are working with the Red Cross," Limani said. "They are actually at the scene of the hospitals working with the different problems that come into play when it comes to finding housing, reconnecting loved ones."