Four people are dead and three more are injured after a horrific Armstrong County car accident late last night.
The two-vehicle accident took place in South Bend Township, between Vandergrift and Indiana, shortly after 10:20 p.m. on Wednesday evening along Route 156 near the Gobblers Run Road intersection.
The Armstrong County Coroner has confirmed that three people in a Ford Mustang–a 19-year-old male driver, 18-year-old female passenger, and 15-year-old male passenger–and one person in a Chevy Lumina–the 41-year-old female driver–were killed. Three more people in the Lumina, all reported to be in their thirties, were Life-Flighted to UPMC Presbyterian and are currently listed in critical condition.
Some first responders from Kiski Township VFD, Elderton Borough VFD, Citizens Ambulance Plumville, Citizens Ambulance Elderton, and Oklahoma / Vandergrift EMS told reporters that this was probably the most difficult scene they’ve ever come upon. Police and investigators have not yet released the names of those involved in the accident.
The initial landing zone for the Med-Evac Life-Flight helicopters was set up at the Keystone Power Plant, but was eventually moved right next to the collision site when the severity of the accident was learned. Three helicopters were used to transport the three injured individuals to UPMC Presby.
Firefighters were heard telling emergency dispatch that victims were severely entrapped and one victim took over and hour to extricate from the wreckage. Life-Flight helicopters arrived around 11:15 p.m. and left shortly after 12:00 a.m. this morning. Other firemen from Rural Valley also showed up later to assist.
The cause of the accident is still under investigation and no one has made an official statement, but a sheriff on the scene told reporters that he believed the accident was caused by speeding and that the Ford Mustang crossed the center line and struck the Chevy Lumina head on. Police do not currently believe that drugs or alcohol played any part in the accident, but toxicology tests will be administered and a full report will be released over the next few days.
Source: Kittanning Paper, “Four Dead in Route 156 Accident” 17 April 2014