PA State Police at Hazleton have released an update on the tractor trailer crash that still has a portion of I 80 Westbound from Exit 273 White Haven/Freeland to exit 262 Mountain Top/Hazleton in Luzerne County closed. According to PennDOT it is expected to reopen at 6pm. It happened just before midnight at mile marker 265.3 in Dennison Township. Two commercial vehicles and a passenger vehicle were involved. One commercial vehicle was carrying hazmat waste when it lost control, overturned and blocked all lanes of travel. Both the other commercial vehicle and the passenger vehicle could not avoid the collision. The person in the passenger vehicle was Life Flighted for treatment of what were called serious injuries. The other drivers were treated at the scene. The crash is still under investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact PSP Hazleton.
Here's the latest statement from the state's Department of Environmental Protection: The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Emergency Response Team is responding to an accident along Interstate 80 in the Drums area of Luzerne County. A tractor-trailer crashed around midnight. The rig was carrying an unknown amount of material that contains asbestos which spilled on the roadway and the side of road. DEP Air Quality staff and a cleanup contractor at the scene are overseeing the proper retrieval and bagging of the material, which will then be sent to an approved disposal site. The accident is still under investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police.