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Truck Crash in 3rd Ward Under Investigation
Four injured, seven parked cars damaged
By Jason Togyer
The Tube City Almanac
September 20, 2023
Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
CORRECTION: This story was corrected after publication to remove a sentence speculating about the cause of the crash. We apologize for the error.
McKeesport police and state safety investigators are probing a crash Monday afternoon that injured two sanitation workers and two bystanders and damaged a half-dozen parked cars in the city’s Third Ward.
Rob Smith, president of Big’s Sanitation in Rostraver Twp., said a truck that was working a route in the area of Jenny Lind Street lost its brakes and rolled down the hill, collding with several cars in the parking lot of Ryco Inc. along 13th Avenue at Walnut Street.
The company collects residential trash in the city under contract.
The truck stopped just short of the Ryco building, Smith said.
Both the driver and a helper — who was riding on the back of the truck — sustained minor injuries and were treated and released at a local hospital, Smith said. Two other people in one of the cars that were struck also were injured, emergency personnel said.
The workers, whose names have not been released, are expected to make a complete recovery and return to the job soon, he said. Both men stayed with the truck until it came to a complete stop, Smith said.
“We have no idea what went wrong with the truck,” he said. “We will be doing a full investigation of all of the mechanical systems once it’s released by the (Department of Transportation).”
Witnesses said that in the seconds leading up to the crash, the driver blew the truck’s horn continuously to warn motorists and bystanders.
Another truck from Big’s completed the route that was being serviced, Smith said.
McKeesport police said Tuesday an accident report was not yet complete.
In a separate — but very similar — incident in Pittsburgh’s Overbrook neighborhood on Tuesday morning, a City of Pittsburgh sanitation truck went out of control, traveling down a hill before striking several vehicles near the intersection of Library and McNeilly roads.
A City of Pittsburgh spokesperson said two people were taken to hospitals by ambulance for treatment. The cause of that accident is also under investigation.
Originally published September 20, 2023.
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