Driver killed after surviving plunge off I-80

Times Leader staff

NESCOPECK – A truck driver survived a crash down a steep embankment Tuesday, only to be struck and killed by another vehicle after climbing back to the roadway.

The crash occurred Tuesday morning in the eastbound lane of Interstate 80 near exit 256, Conyngham/Nescopeck. It shut down the highway’s eastbound lane for several hours as investigators pieced together the scene and recovered the truck.

State police at Hazleton said the driver lost control of the tractor-trailer and traveled off the shoulder of the highway and down an embankment, coming to a rest on its side at the bottom of the hill.

The driver climbed out of the truck, over the guardrail and back to the roadway, where he was fatally struck by another vehicle, state police said.

State police said the driver of the second vehicle did not stop and they are treating the incident as a hit-and-run.

State police are seeking information about the vehicle that struck the man.

State police have not released the name of the victim.