A tree came down across northbound Interstate 83 in York County overnight, and before crews could clear it, several vehicles slammed into the debris in the dark. One person was hurt badly enough to be taken to the hospital, and a tangle of state and local responders spent the early morning hours untangling the wreckage near the Maryland line.
According to local21news.com, reports started coming in just before midnight near mile marker 0.3 on I-83, where three vehicles were found to have crashed into the downed tree blocking the road. Emergency crews were called out overnight after the vehicles struck the obstruction, and one person suffered injuries in the pileup, the outlet reported.
Victim Taken To York Hospital
That injured person was taken to York Hospital for treatment following the crash, according to Local 21 News. The Shrewsbury Volunteer Fire Company confirmed the hospital transport in a Facebook post, though no further detail on the person's condition has been released. The evidence does not identify the injured person's name, age or the extent of their injuries.
Clearing the scene required a coordinated response. Crews were aided by Gordon's Towing, Pennsylvania State Police, the Maryland Department of Transportation, and PennDOT, the report noted, reflecting how close the crash site sat to the state line separating York County from Maryland.
Not The First Tree-Related Pileup On This Stretch
This is not the first multi-vehicle crash tied to roadside hazards on I-83 in York County this year. A three-vehicle crash injured one person on I-83 South near Exit 4 in Shrewsbury Township on July 21, according to law-pa.com. That earlier collision happened around 6:45 a.m. in the southbound lanes, and Pennsylvania State Police were investigating the circumstances surrounding it.
Trees blocking Pennsylvania highways have been a recurring headache elsewhere in the region as well. Gusty storms moved through central Pennsylvania and closed several Midstate roads, abc27.com reported, including a large tree that shut down two southbound lanes of I-83 in Fairview Township near milepost 38 while the left lane continued moving. The outlet also noted that I-83 Northbound was closed near New Cumberland due to a separate tree down, according to 511PA.
Other closures that same stretch of storms produced included Route 34 in Cumberland County, shut in both directions between Mount Holly Springs and the Hunters Run area, along with Pine Grove Road between Route 34 and Pine Grove Furnace. Route 743 near Hershey was also closed in both directions between Homestead Road and McCorkel Road, per abc27.com's report. It is not established whether weather or storms directly caused the York County tree involved in overnight's crash to fall.
Roadside Hazards A Known Risk Statewide
Statewide crash data compiled by Pennsylvania's transportation agency indicates that roadside objects are struck often in crashes across the commonwealth, with certain types of objects appearing more frequently than others, according to a pa.gov report. The overnight I-83 crash adds another entry to that pattern, though details on the exact municipality where the tree fell and how long the northbound lanes stayed closed have not been confirmed.
