Scammer
Banned
Interstate 70 at exit 31 in Somerset Township, Washington County, has reopened after an accident forced PennDOT to conduct an emergency demolition of the McIlvane Road Bridge that crosses over the interstate.
PennDOT said the bridge was damaged when it was struck by a vehicle that was transporting an oversized load on I-70 westbound Monday night.
A contractor was hired to tear down the damaged structure beam by beam on Tuesday morning. Piles of rubble and debris were left behind and need to be removed.
"We're definitely going to replace it very quickly, but whether we replace it just with the beams and the superstructure the way it is now, or we might actually widen the bridge out and put a whole new bridge in -- we have got to evaluate our options," a PennDOT spokesman said.
Police said the driver of the truck, identified as Tony Kyle, 49, of Cleveland, Texas, briefly stopped to check the load before leaving the scene.
"They are required by law to contact the police, so what I look at is violation of law, and of course, yes, why would this person leave the scene? That's a question I can't answer," Capt. Sheldon Epstein said.
A PennDOT employee spotted Kyle's truck at a Bridgeville rest stop and notified authorities, police said.
According to police, Kyle's vehicle, which is registered to Coastal Carriers, was hauling a large piece of equipment known as a stator.
Police said Kyle's designated route on his vehicle permits indicated that he should exit at the Kammerer ramp before getting back on I-70, but when he failed to do so, a crane hook on his truck hit the bridge.
Kyle faces fourteen charges as a result of the bridge accident and citations based on violations discovered during an inspection of the vehicle.