Two were killed and three others hospitalized when four tractor-trailers and two passenger vehicles were involved in an early morning crash in Hagerstown on Friday morning.
Four of the victims were from New York.
Wesley Merrick, 55, and Alicia Eve Cornell, 46, both of Wellsville, were pronounced dead at the scene of the chain-reaction crash, which was sparked when he drove into the back of a braking truck in traffic.
Investigators say that a Chevrolet Tahoe struck the back of a tractor-trailer, which led to three other trucks and a pick-up to collide shortly after 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 1.
Two other passengers in the Tahoe were injured, and Carrie Merrick, 49, the wife of the driver, had to be airlifted to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.
Kevin Dye, also of New York, was taken by paramedics to the Meritus Medical Center in Hagerstown.
Police say that the driver of one of the tractor-trailers, Darrin Wayne Shank, Jr., 55, of Williamsport, was also taken to an area hospital for treatment of undisclosed injuries.
I-81 will remain closed at the scene of the crash as state police continue to investigate. The incident left traffic backed up for miles in both Maryland and Pennsylvania.
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