Pa. State Police Car Crushed in Highway Accident

May 5, 2011
A state police car was compacted almost in half when a sport utility vehicle slammed into it Thursday morning on Toll Route 43 near Brownsville, Fayette County.

A state police car was compacted almost in half when a sport utility vehicle slammed into it Thursday morning on Toll Route 43 near Brownsville, Fayette County.

Channel 4 Action News' Sheldon Ingram reported that Trooper Will Pierce was not inside his police car at the time of the crash, which happened in a construction zone, and Pierce was unharmed.

Police are still investigating the cause of the accident. No charges have been filed.

Major Terry Seilhamer said everything in the police car was smashed when the other vehicle hit it while going approximately 70 mph.

Seilhamer said Pierce told police that he saw the SUV when it was about one-tenth of a mile away, and he yelled to a construction worker to get out of the way.

Ingram reported that Pierce's car was parked off the road while the trooper was talking with a construction company about their work detail. In front of the police car was a construction vehicle with an elevated bucket and an operator inside.

The SUV driver veered off the road and slammed into the trooper's car, which then hit the construction vehicle while the operator was still in the bucket, Ingram reported.

The driver, identified as Richard Orlandi, of Vestaburg, was flown by helicopter to Allegheny General Hospital. His condition has not been made available.

The construction worker was not seriously hurt.

Copyright 2011 by WTAE. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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