Pickup Driver Dies After Suspected Medical Emergency Sparks Multi-Vehicle Wreck in Havertown
A gray pickup truck tore through traffic in Havertown, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, striking more than a dozen vehicles before rolling over and slamming into a U-Haul truck. The driver, a man in his 60s, was pronounced dead at the scene; eight other people were hospitalized. Police say the driver may have suffered a medical emergency behind the wheel, and surveillance video captured the entire sequence.
Erratic, high-speed run down West Chester Pike
The crash began around 12:15 p.m. on October 3 at Darby Road and West Chester Pike and ended about 1.5 miles away at West Chester Pike and Eagle Road, in Haverford Township, Delaware County. According to Police Chief John Viola, the pickup began "traveling erratically at a high rate of speed," hitting vehicle after vehicle along the busy corridor before flipping onto its side and coming to rest against the U-Haul.
Reports differ slightly on the scale of the pileup: NBC10 Philadelphia counts 14 vehicles involved, while WPVI reports 16 vehicles damaged. Westbound West Chester Pike was shut down near Manoa Road for the investigation and cleanup, and has since reopened.
Driver killed; police point to a medical emergency, not impairment
The pickup driver, a man in his 60s whose identity has not been released, was pronounced dead at the scene. Viola said investigators believe the man experienced a medical emergency before the first impact. So far, police say there is no evidence of impairment or criminal factors. The nature of the medical emergency has not been disclosed.
"This is breathtaking," Viola said of the scene. "It kind of takes you back a bit that you have to take the whole scene in and realize how many people were actually hurt here and the amount of cars that were heavily damaged."
Eight hospitalized; injuries not life-threatening
Eight people were taken to area hospitals. Police described their injuries as non-life-threatening, with all expected to recover.
Witnesses described a terrifying sequence of impacts. "It was just bang, bang, bang, bang," said Rob Rothacker, who watched in his rearview mirror as "cars were going left and right." One crash victim said, "I feel very fortunate walking away from this." Yusuf Peters of Upper Darby called it "a very sad thing that happened." A third witness described the sound of "collision noise, glass noise, metal crushing."
Video shows the truck going airborne
Surveillance footage shows the truck plowing into stopped vehicles, going airborne, and rolling into the U-Haul. FOX29 reported that video provided by Havertown Cafe captured the pickup becoming airborne as it crossed the Smoothie King parking lot before crashing into vehicles and the U-Haul truck. Restaurant staff and customers rushed outside as the scene unfolded.
The crash happened during Haverford Township Day, when the area was already heavily congested, according to FOX29. Police are still investigating, and the driver's identity and the medical cause of the emergency have not been released. An additional dispatch call reported as a possible hit-and-run near West Chester Pike and Roosevelt Avenue may be part of the same sequence, though police have not confirmed that.