Police: Truck Triggers I-78 Chain-Reaction Crash

A Philadelphia man driving a Freightliner truck was cited after starting a chain-reaction crash on Interstate 78 Friday afternoon involving a total of five vehicles and resulting in one minor injury, police said.

The crash occurred on eastbound I-78 near the on-ramp from Route 100 south in Upper Macungie Township, according to state police at Fogelsville.

The state police said:

Traffic was stopped in the left lane when the Freightliner driver, Anatoliy Hladich, 50, rear-ended a 1997 Pontiac Grand Am driven by Kevin Krick, 49, of Bernville (Berks County). Krick suffered a minor injury but did not require medical transport.

The force of the crash caused the two cars in front of the Grand Am to be rear-ended in chain reaction fashion. The Grand Am hit a 2009 Audi A4 driven by Philip Pope, 51 of Stroudsburg. Also hit was the car in front of Pope's—a 2003 Subaru Impreza driven by Ryan Mucka, 23, of Lehighton.

The Subaru had a passenger—Gary Giehl, 23, also of Lehighton.

Meanwhile, the Subaru was pushed into the center lane, where a Mack Truck model CH500 driven by James Burke, 48, of Northampton had been traveling. The Subaru hit the Mack's driver side front wheel.

Hladich was cited for violating the traffic law for driving vehicles at safe speed. Police also noted that Hladich's truck had a "child safety seat used improperly," but there is no mention of a child being in the seat.

Police did not say if Hladich was wearing a seat belt. But they said the other drivers and the passenger were wearing seat belts.