What happened on 376 yesterday morning?

Submitted by WuKongPhooey t3_126lvna in pittsburgh

I have been hunting around for any information about yesterday's crash and coming up empty. All I know is, that was one of the worst traffic jams I've seen so far in Pittsburgh. I have seen a post on here making light of how people found a route around it and while that was funny it doesn't answer my question and it seems the school threats yesterday got all of the attention of the local news. Anyone here witness it and can tell me what happened?

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thewondermexican t1_je9oaju wrote

Dump truck hit a car and blocked the tunnel for hours

No one was seriously hurt as far as I am aware

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WuKongPhooey OP t1_je9qkrp wrote

Damn! Did one of them try to pass inside the tunnel? I'm glad no one was seriously hurt! I swear only in Pittsburgh do people have this much difficulty driving straight for 2 minutes.

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weavs13 t1_jea85j6 wrote

Saw some photos floating around on facebook. I know nothing about vehicles but the comments made it sound like poor maintenance on the truck. Something about looked like screwed fell out and caused an issue with the axle.

Edit - per someone claiming to be the tow truck driver but they don't specify if the damage is from the accident or the cause of the accident.

"Sheared all the bolts off both axles, no clue how it didn't blow any tires or rims, even hit the front wheel and bent the front leaf springs at the front shackle"

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steelcity_ t1_jeba6c1 wrote

I have seen 18-wheelers change lanes inside the Fort Pitt tunnels twice. Nobody should be doing it, it's insane and dangerous, but you'd think the people whose job is driving would have the foresight not to do this crap.

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SendAstronomy t1_jebpgaq wrote

People are so used to dodging potholes that they are no longer able to drive in a straight line.

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nova_paintball t1_jea5zei wrote

I wonder if someone wasn't paying attention and swerved to avoid rear ending the person in front of them, or else did rear end someone and the hit also caused them to go sideways as well

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Chillz99 t1_jea0yhh wrote

the accident caused a fuel spill from one of the trucks which required a fuel spill truck from the city of Pittsburgh, so it took a while to clean it up. Also had to remove the fuel from the tanks remaining on the damaged trucks so they could be towed.

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WuKongPhooey OP t1_jea20b0 wrote

Thank you! Now THIS is why I came to this thread! I just knew things were more complicated than just towing two vehicles from the tunnel.

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Floopydoodler t1_jeacwck wrote

Everything is more complicated with that tunnel. Having once spent 2 hours inside a closed tunnel waiting on state police engaged elsewhere, it doesn't even take something major to snarl. Don't know why state police are required to clear the scene but they are. Now every time I go thru those tunnels I think about the afternoon I spent sitting on the barriers with the dude who smashed into me. He apologized 9,000 times and his boss showed up on scene to scream at him (he was driving a work truck). Then we were given the finger from 9,000 people who had been stuck in traffic outside the tunnel once they reopened. good times.

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BlimeyFish t1_jecqrim wrote

It's 376, a state road. So therefore, state police. It's silly of course but that's how these things work.

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DugganSC t1_jecv3zx wrote

And, of course, there's good reason why they take any crash seriously. That's a very enclosed space, and just a little bit of smoke will lead to little to no visibility, panic, and subsequent deaths, c.f. the Mont Blanc Tunnel fire.

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techman993 t1_jea87v8 wrote

Still confused why inbound traffic was rerouted if this was only on the outbound side.

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enraged_hbo_max_user t1_jeaacsu wrote

Maybe they were worried about the spilled fuel igniting which seems like it could be a problem for both sides. IDK though I’m not a tunnel expert guy.

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techman993 t1_jeaamln wrote

Ah that does make more sense now that you mention it. Still bitter it added an extra 40 minutes to my commute lol

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UnsurprisingDebris t1_je9mycj wrote

There was an accident in the tunnel, outbound side.

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WuKongPhooey OP t1_je9nfx5 wrote

Yeah, I appreciate your answer, but I got that much information from Google Maps. I'm more interested in knowing what happened in the accident, if anyone was seriously injured, what caused the accident, etc.

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[deleted] t1_je9ojwc wrote

It took three seconds to google “squirrel hill tunnel crash” and find out that there were no injuries reported.

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WuKongPhooey OP t1_je9qc9j wrote

Thank you for hitting on the magic keywords to search. I was using 376 and not Squirrel Hill tunnel.

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cooldude_4000 t1_je9srzr wrote

I'm guessing you're not from Pittsburgh originally? "Parkway East crash" would've given you the same results; locals (and the news stations) don't really refer to it as 376.

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WuKongPhooey OP t1_je9sx4h wrote

You are correct sir!

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cpr4life8 t1_jea0ti5 wrote

I moved to Pittsburgh from another state in 2016. I quickly learned that 376 is not a term locals use and will look at you like a dog hearing something only dogs can hear when you say it 😅 376 west of the city is Parkway West. 376 east of the city is Parkway East.

Learn it. Know it. Live it.

Oh, and welcome to Pittsburgh!

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WuKongPhooey OP t1_jea19ze wrote

Been here for 12 years actually but thank you! Honestly I was mistaken in thinking the Pittsburgh-ese wouldn't help with the search. But I do love it here. Despite the dump trucks wrecking in the tunnel. Or the locals inability to drive straight for two minutes.

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cpr4life8 t1_jea1idw wrote

My apologies, I only saw that you weren't from Pittsburgh and assumed you were new 😬

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saltedkumihimo t1_je9stuu wrote

Yeah, calling the tunnel 376 is not going to get you anything useful. The Ft Pitt Tunnel is also on 376

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hypotenoos t1_je9v0pe wrote

Anything today?

Just got on eastbound at Penn hills and didn’t see another car until the turnpike.

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humpinggorilla t1_jeb93n7 wrote

Leaving school outa the Weirton exit yesterday going into the city there was a crew working on a barrier it looked like in the middle of the highway but didnt see a wreck. Looked like it was both sides had the left lane blocked off and cleared out after that

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Robbielovesdoritos t1_je9my9t wrote

HOV had been closed Monday and Tuesday, traffic was pretty rough then. not too far out to think traffic buildup was still happening in the morning

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johnjr_09 t1_je9nmib wrote

How would an hov lane being closed on 279 effect traffic going outbound on 376 at the squirrel hill tunnel.

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