August 9th, 2010 | 
Author: WEST EARL TOWNSHIP, PA – A rear end truck accident Wednesday afternoon, July 21, shut down a section of a highway in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania for several hours. A semi trailer truck collided with two different vehicles in the northbound lanes of State Route 222 in West Earl Township. The accident area is near the town of Ephrata, PA in the south east section of the state, about 68 miles west of Philadelphia, PA and about 93 miles north of Baltimore, Maryland.
After rear-ending the two passenger vehicles the semi tractor trailer slammed into a guardrail along the side of the highway and finally came to a stop.
Shortly before 1:00 p.m. Wednesday afternoon 54 year old Gary Tomkins of Oneida, Tennessee was driving a semi trailer truck north on State Route 222 just west of the town of Ephrata in West Earl Township, Lancaster County, PA.
As Mr. Tompkins drove along the highway in the area near the Peach Road Bridge he suddenly came upon a line of vehicles that had slowed down to move through a construction zone. The truck driver was apparently moving at the normal rate of speed for the highway and was unable to slow down or maneuver in time to avoid a collision.
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The semi trailer truck slammed into the back of a car and the impact of the truck accident pushed the vehicle off the road. The car flipped over after being forced off the highway. The identities of the car driver and their passenger have not been released to the public at this time.
After hitting the first car the semi trailer truck then crashed into a second passenger vehicle driven by 63 year old Gerald Russell of New York. Mr. Russell had one passenger in his vehicle, identified as Sharon Chambers.
After rear-ending the two passenger vehicles the semi tractor trailer slammed into a guardrail along the side of the highway and finally came to a stop.
Local police and emergency personnel rushed to the scene of the semi truck accident and gave aid to the victims. The unidentified driver and passenger of the first car hit were treated and stabilized at the scene of the collision before being transported to Reading Hospital in Reading, PA about 22 miles away. The extent of their injuries and conditions are unknown.
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The driver of the second car hit in the truck accident, Mr. Russell, sustained only minor injuries which were treated at the site. His passenger, Ms. Chambers, suffered more serious injuries and was taken to Ephrata Hospital for treatment.
The truck driver, Mr. Tompkins, was not injured in the truck accident.
The northbound lanes of State Route 222 were closed for several hours while investigators reconstructed the truck accident and highway crews worked to remove the wreckage of the vehicles from the roadway.
The traffic lanes were finally cleared around 3:00 p.m. Wednesday afternoon and authorities reopened all northbound lanes.
At this time no charges have been brought against the truck driver and the truck accident remains under investigation.
For more information about Pennsylvania trucking laws, truck injury causes and victims rights, contact a nationwide truck accident attorney at Gordon, Elias & Seely, LLP for expert advice. For a free initial consultation, talk to a PA truck accident lawyer at 800.773.6770.
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