A California truck driver and a Pennsylvania trucker were both injured when their vehicles collided on I-78 east in Lower Saucon Township Friday evening, state police at Belfast announced in a news release Monday.
According to police, the accident happened in the area of mile marker 71.0 when 38-year-old Blainder Singh of Sunnyvale, Calif., attempted to merge onto I-78 eastbound and drove into the highway’s left lane.
Interstate 78 bisects both Hellertown borough and Lower Saucon Township in Northampton County.(FILE PHOTO)
Singh’s Freightliner Cascadia was then struck by 52-year-old Tony Witherite of Fleming, Centre County, who police said was driving a 2014 Volvo VNL.
Police said the crash happened at approximately 10:09 p.m., and noted that “both operators sustained numerous injuries.”
The accident report said Singh was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital-Bethlehem Campus for treatment of a suspected serious injury, while the other driver suffered an injury of “unknown severity.”
Both men were transported from the scene by Upper Saucon Ambulance Corps.
Also assisting at the scene were Dewey EMS, Dewey Fire Company, Lower Saucon Fire Rescue, Nancy Run Fire Company, Bethlehem Township Volunteer Fire Company, Lehigh County HAZMAT, Lehigh County Emergency Management, Northampton County Emergency Management and Fast Lane Towing, police said.
The news release indicated that police planned to cite Singh for a speeding violation, however as of Monday no charges had been filed, according to online court records in the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania web portal.
Note: All individuals accused of or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. This story was compiled using information from Pennsylvania State Police, Belfast barracks.