Bethpage Man Killed In Massive Pa. Highway Pileup

A Bethpage man was identified as one of three people killed in a massive vehicle pileup that occurred on Pennsylvania’s I-78 Saturday morning.

Kenneth J. Lesko, 50, was pronounced dead at the scene of the I-78 wreck, which may have been prompted by sudden whiteout conditions, authorities say. The 64-vehicle pileup involving trucks, SUVs and cars happened in Bethel Township, closing the highway there for nearly a day.

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.

Lesko was in the back seat of a Dodge Ram when a tractor-trailer jackknifed in front of the vehicle, causing the pickup truck to swerve out of the way, according to Newsday. The pickup truck landed in a ditch and was then struck by an oil tanker, the publication reported.

Three other people in the pickup truck were able to get out of the vehicle, but Lesko, a Con Edison lineman, was trapped inside, his mother told Newsday. “He was a shining star, and he will be sorely missed in this world,” Ethel Lesko said.

The fatal pileup also claimed two other victims: Francisca V. Pear, 54, of Bridgewater, N.J., and Alfred Dean Kinnick, 57, of Limestone, Tenn.

At least four medical helicopters were on the scene Saturday morning to help ambulances ferry the injured to nearby hospitals, PennLive reported.

More than 50 people were transported to seven hospitals in central Pennsylvania and more than 70 people were transported to a shelter set up at the Jonestown Fire Station, Cory Angell, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, told Philly.com.

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.

“At this time there are no reports of serious injury to anyone on the bus. All students are being transported to an area hospital as a precautionary measure,” Penn State said in a statement.

NBC10 reported a snow squall triggered the pileup about 90 miles Northwest of Philadelphia.

Temperatures were well below freezing at the time of the crash as an arctic blast enveloped much of the region. Photos from the scene showed damaged trucks and cars resting haphazard in the highway median, and one tanker was overturned.

People whose cars were involved in the huge pileup were being kept warm in the back of tractor-trailers until rescue buses arrived, Trooper LeBron told PennLive.com.

Governor Wolf’s office was briefed on the incident, and joined in a Saturday conference call with Pennsylvania State Police and local emergency managers, according to Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.

Police in Lebanon County told the AP that the crash was reported at about 9:45 a.m. Saturday in the eastbound lanes of the interstate near Fredericksburg. The highway was closed between Exit 6 and Exit 8. Lanes were reopened early Sunday morning.

Emergency Preparedness Liaisons from Red Cross, State Police, Dept. of Military and Veteran Affairs, Human Services and Health have responded, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency said.

Story by Todd Richissin

Photo: @Cooper_leslie2 via Twitter