8 Killed On Same PA Highway This Week

PENNSYLVANIA — Eight people were killed this week in two fatal crashes on a stretch of I-81 in Pennsylvania.

The first crash occurred late Sunday night in Dauphin County. In that crash, three people were killed and dozens injured after a charter bus crashed.

Then on Wednesday, five people were killed in a Franklin County crash after a recreational vehicle blew a tire on the interstate and collided head-on with a tractor trailer. That crash was reported just before 9 p.m. after the southbound RV collided with the northbound tractor trailer.

Four of the victims in Wednesday's crash were from the same family, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

Those killed in the RV crash were identified as Donald Molander, Kimberly Molander, Miranda Molander and Dane Molander, all of Middletown. The truck driver was identified as James Shade, of Martinsburg, West Virginia. All five were pronounced dead at the scene, according to officials.

Friends of the Molanders told CBS21 that the family was on their way to Loretta Lynns Ranch in Tennessee for the ATV race.

Dane Molander, 19, was considered a rising star in ATV racing and had just turned pro this year, WGAL reports.

Fellow riders expressed shock and sadness, sharing tributes of the family following the crash.