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The crash happened on I-81 southbound at mile marker 65.5, Susquehanna Township around 9 a.m., according to a release by Pennsylvania state police.
A 2007 Nissan Diesel driven by Syla James Pope was disabled on the side of the road and a road service technician Jeffery Hanwell came to assist him in a 2012 Ford F350, the release shows.
A 2019 Dodge Ram 1500 driven by Keith William Morris went over the fog line hitting the Nissan in the rear propelling all three vehicles and the drivers, police explain.
Morris and Pope suffered minor injuries but Hanwell, 49, of Abbottstown, Adams County, was near the passenger side door of the box truck that slammed into him— causing life-threatening injuries— he was taken by a helicopter to Holy Spirit Hospital where he died, according to PSP.
Morris is an East Pennsboro police officer who was off-duty at the time of the crash, according to East Pennsboro Township spokesman John Bruetsch.
Morris is a patrol sergeant with the East Pennsboro Township police department, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He is currently on sick leave due to his injuries, according to Bruetsch.
The crash remains under investigation by the Dauphin County district attorney’s office and Pennsylvania state police.
This is the second serious crash caused by an off-duty police officer on an interstate in Pennsylvania in one week.
Police Cpl. Gregory Carney caused a head-on crash that sent himself and Christine Rinn, 68, of Erie, to hospitals on Tuesday, April 5, state police say.
Carney was released from the hospital the same day, according to his police department. Rinn was flown to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital where she remains in stable condition, according to the latest update from state police.
No charges have been filed in either incident as of Tuesday afternoon.
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