A man from Canonsburg who was beloved by his family, friends, and community was killed in a four-vehicle accident on I-70 in Washington County. The 45-year-old man was driving his Ford station wagon around 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon when a driver heading in the opposite direction lost control of his vehicle for nearly 175 feet, crossed the median, and plowed into several cars. The accident happened near the I-70 / I-79 intersection in South Strabane Township.

The man was said to have died at the scene of the accident from blunt-force trauma to the head and upper torso. The man's young son was with him during the accident and was injured. The son was Life-Flighted to a local hospital and is expected to recover.

Police also reported that another victim from a different car was also Life-Flighted to a hospital in Pittsburgh, but the condition of that person is still not known. In addition, there were two other vehicles involved. One of those vehicles was a commercial tractor-trailer that swerved to miss the initial vehicle and slid through the median into the opposite lanes.

The victim who lost his life was described as a giant of a man and devoted father and husband who loved playing sports with his children and going to their sporting events. He himself was a member of the Duquesne University basketball team in the late 1980s.

State police are still investigating what caused the crash and there were believed to be more injured victims, but authorities have not made any official reports and will likely wait to do so until they are certain of the facts.

Source: TribLive, "One person killed in Washington County crash" 22 February 2014