Fatal Crash Snarls Parkway Traffic

A 22-year-old Crescent Township man involved in a Monday morning crash on the Parkway West has died.

was driving east on Interstate 376 near the Carnegie exit when he crashed at 8:45 a.m and was ejected from his car, state police Trooper Robin Mungo said. Hetzer was taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh with severe injuries to his head, Mungo said.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office said Hetzer died at the hospital at 2:15 p.m.

Mungo said Hetzer was driving in the left lane when he jerked the car to the right to avoid hitting the concrete median barrier. The car then traveled up a hillside, crashed into several trees and rolled over back onto the roadway, coming to rest on the driver's side door, Mungo said.

Hetzer was not wearing a seatbelt and thrown about 100 feet from the car, she said. He suffered severe head injuries in the crash.

"Speed is definitely a factor," Mungo said. "The crash had nothing to do with the weather (conditions)."

The inbound lanes near the Carnegie exit were closed for nearly three hours because of the crash. State police and firefighters from the East Carnegie Volunteer Fire Department responded to the accident, and the road was reopened at about 11:20 a.m.

Troopers directed motorists to exit at the Carnegie interchange and re-enter I-376 at the Green Tree exit. The crash snarled traffic during the morning commute and caused lenghty delays all the way back to the Interstate 79 interchange.

The crash happened in an area that state Department of Transportation officials said last week is prone to accidents. in the area that spray a mixture of salt and warm water.