Multiple people were killed in a major crash involving a tour bus and three semi-trucks on the Pennsylvania Turnpike early Sunday in the western part of the state that left dozens injured, according to officials.<br /><br />The crash happened around 3:30 a.m. Sunday in the highway's westbound lanes in Mount Pleasant Township, located about 40 miles southeast of downtown Pittsburgh.<br /><br />Pennsylvania Turnpike spokesman Carl DeFebo confirmed fatalities on Twitter, saying a "prolonged closure" of the turnpike is likely. DeFebo added the Westmoreland County coroner confirmed five fatalities and about 60 injuries.<br /><br />Pennsylvania State Police said the tour bus was traveling westbound on the highway on a downhill curve when it struck an embankment. Commercial vehicles traveling behind then struck the tour bus, according to state police.<br /><br />A total of six vehicles were involved in the crash, including a tour bus, three semi-trucks loaded with parcels and one private passenger vehicle, according to police.<br /><br />State police said that a total of 39 people were transported to area hospitals, including 28 sent to Frick Hospital in Mount Pleasant and 11 transported to Forbes Hospital in Monroeville.<br /><br />Images from the scene showed mangled wreckage on the highway. A tour bus could be seen flipped on its side as a result of the crash.<br /><br />Angela Maynard, a tractor-trailer driver from Kentucky, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review she was traveling eastbound with her co-driver on the turnpike around 3:30 a.m. when they came across the crash.<br /><br />“It was horrible,” she said.<br /><br />Maynard told the newspaper she saw someone laying on the ground, while another person was trapped in their truck.<br /><br />“I walked toward the scene and saw one of the truck drivers laying near the barrier. I tried to keep him occupied, keep talking, until medical help arrived," Maynard told the Tribune-Review. "He was in bad shape. He was floating in and out of consciousness.”<br /><br />The crash caused all lanes to be closed in both directions on the highway between the Breezewood and New Stanton exits, roughly an 86-mile stretch of roadway.<br /><br />Motorists traveling east are being urged to use Route 119 south US 40 east to Interstate 68 east (at Cumberland, Maryland) to Interstate 70 west and re-enter the turnpike at the Breezewood Interchange exit 161.<br /><br />Westbound motorists are urged to use Route 30 west to Interstate 99 north to US Route 22 west to Route 66 south and re-enter the turnpike at exit 75 in at the New Stanton exit.<br /><br />It was not clear if the weather was a factor in the crash. The National Weather Service forecast for Westmoreland County early Sunday listed light unknown precipitation and an air temperature just below freezing.<br /><br />The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is sending investigators to the crash scene, WPXI reported.<br />
