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Donald T. Gercie, 63, was driving a dump truck that hit an overpass in the eastbound lanes and rolled over near milepost 48.0 in Upper Macungie just after 9:50 a.m., the Coroner’s Officer said.
Gercie, of Alpha, NJ, was pronounced dead at the scene from multiple blunt force injuries just before 12:25 p.m. The manner of death was accidental.
Gercie’s passenger, Joel A. Fantauzzi Ortiz, 40, of Bethlehem, was pronounced dead just before 10:50 a.m. The cause and and manner of death was the same.
Tributes starting coming in within hours:
Meanwhile, the entire highway between Routes 863 and 100 was closed Monday morning while emergency workers cleared the way and investigated the scene, authorities said.
Westbound lanes reopened at 2:30 p.m., while eastbound lanes stayed closed through the evening.
The crash remains under investigation by the coroner’s office, as well as the Pennsylvania State Police, Fogelsville Station.
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