Emergency crews have removed a tractor-trailer rig from the Fort Pitt Bridge, clearing an accident that stopped traffic on the bridge's lower deck for nearly four hours
The truck, hauling dry lime used in construction work, overturned shortly before 9 a.m., pinning a car against the guardrail of the bridge.
Police initially were told that people were trapped in vehicles struck by the truck as it overturned, but later reports said there was no entrapment and no injuries.
Police had blocked all ramps leading to the outbound lanes to keep traffic off it as workers tried to right the truck. As a result of the backup, motorists were stuck on the ramps for hours, and several Port Authority buses were delayed.
A man who identified himself as Will Young, 55, of Martinsburg, Blair County, said he was driving the truck when he felt its load shift. He said there was nothing he could do to stop it from tipping over.
Mr. Young said he crawled out of the cab and saw several people rushing to the aid of the woman who was driving the car his truck smashed into.
He said he was driving for Predator Trucking Co. out of McDonald, Ohio.
The woman in the crushed car, a Volvo, was driven away in a police car about 30 minutes after the accident, She appeared shaken but not injured.
First Published: March 5, 2014, 2:13 p.m.
Updated: March 5, 2014, 6:21 p.m.