A Pennsylvania State Police vehicle (FILE PHOTO)
Pennsylvania State Police at Belfast are investigating a chain reaction-type crash that occurred when a westbound driver on I-78 began to abruptly change lanes.
In a report on the accident, police said it happened in the early afternoon of July 25 near mile marker 69.9 in Lower Saucon Township, Northampton County.
At that time, police said a 2009 Kia Sorento operated by a 68-year-old woman from Lake Ariel, Wayne County, and a 2005 CH613 Mack truck driven by a 46-year-old man from Effort, Monroe County, were traveling in the right lane.
Shortly before 1:30 p.m., police said the driver of an unidentified vehicle traveling in the left lane “abruptly began merging from the left lane to the right lane,” forcing the Kia driver to swerve out of her lane.
As a result, police said the woman struck a concrete traffic barrier along the highway’s right shoulder and was forced back into the right lane of travel by the force of the impact.
The Mack truck driver then struck the Kia from behind, and both drivers subsequently moved into the right shoulder, where they stopped.
Police said the driver of the vehicle whose abrupt merge triggered the accident “continued traveling west and did not make any contact with the involved vehicles.”
The driver of the Kia suffered a suspected minor injury in the crash and was taken by Dewey EMS of Hellertown to St. Luke’s Hospital-Bethlehem to be evaluated, police said.
Her vehicle sustained heavy rear-end damage and was towed from the scene, they said.
The other driver wasn’t injured and his truck sustained minor damage to its front end, according to police.
State police said they were assisted at the scene of the wreck by Lower Saucon Fire Rescue.
