Parkway North Crash Survivor: 'Like Something Out Of The Twilight Zone, Just Black Smoke Quick'
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A fatal crash closed down the Parkway North early Tuesday morning and kept it closed for hours after a dump truck lost control and caused a chain-reaction collision.
Both southbound lanes of the Parkway North were open for the Wednesday morning commute.
PennDOT reopened one lane of the Parkway North southbound during Tuesday's evening rush hour. The other southbound lane was reopened early Wednesday morning, after PennDOT workers repaired a damaged guide rail.
Adam Stasik, of Wexford, is one of the people involved in that crash.
"It's just wild," said Stasik. "It was like something out of 'The Twilight Zone,' just black smoke, quick."
Stasik was headed to work, apparently close behind the dump truck, which was carrying slag dust.
Police say it was around 5 a.m. when the dump truck hit the concrete median, rolled onto its side, slid through the guide rails and part way down the hill.
The truck's driver, 64-year-old Bryant Beiter of Munhall, was killed.
Stasik says the slag dust created a cloud of darkness.
"I felt the pelting, and then it was like instant, nothing to see," said Stasik.
Four vehicles behind the truck were involved in the crash. Three people were taken to the hospital, including Stasik.
"My chest hurts real bad in certain positions," he said.
Stasik was driving his Chevy Silverado. He hit the brakes once the cloud of dark dust surrounded him, but slammed into something and the air bag went off.
"I think I might have hit him as he was rolling. I never saw him," Stasik said.
He believes he owes his life to his truck, which was only a month old and is now totaled.
"The truck saved my life," said Stasik. "I'm glad I got it, even though I only had it a short time, it saved my life."
The lanes of the road had been narrowed from 12 feet each to 11 feet each because of the construction, but police don't know if that was a factor in the dump truck losing control.
Stasik says flurries were coming down, but the road surface was dry.
