Somerset County Woman Killed In Pa. Highway Pileup

A Bridgewater woman was among those killed in a massive 64-car pileup Saturday on a Pennsylvania highway.

State Police say Francisca V. Pear, 54, was pronounced dead at the scene of the I-78 wreck, which may have been prompted by sudden whiteout conditions, authorities say. The crash happened in Bethel Township, closing the highway there for nearly a day.

The accident claimed two other victims, Pennsylvania State Police say. Kenneth J. Lesko, 50, of Bethpage, New York and Alfred Dean Kinnick, 57, of Limestone, Tennessee, were also killed.

The massive wreck required the response of at least four medical helicopters as well as numerous ambulances to bring the more than 73 injured to nearby hospitals, PennLive reported.

Quickly-escalating whiteout conditions were reported by witnesses just before the crash, Pennsylvania State Police told ABC News.

There were at least nine tractor-trailer trucks involved in the pileup, the Morning Call reported.

A bus carrying the Penn State Lehigh Valley men’s basketball team was among the vehicles involved, the university said in a statement. The team was on its way to a game in New Kensington when the bus was hit by a tractor trailer in the accident, university officials confirmed. No one on that bus was seriously injured, the school said in a statement.

Photo: @Cooper_leslie2 via Twitter