Two people killed in wrong-way crash on Route 28

PITTSBURGH — Two people were killed early Thursday in a wrong-way crash on Route 28 that closed a section of the road during the morning rush hour.

The crash was reported just after 3:30 a.m. between the 31st Street Bridge and the Heinz plant.

Police believe the driver of a Kia was outbound in the inbound lanes and struck a Honda head-on. The driver of the Kia, Sidney Cope, 24, of Coraopolis, was killed.

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The driver of the Honda, Clara Roberts, 24, of Indiana, was taken to a hospital, where she also died.

"They were both transported to AGH in critical condition," said Emily Shaffer, a spokeswoman for Pittsburgh police. "The first victim was pronounced deceased shortly after 6 this morning, the second shortly after 8 this morning."

Roberts was headed to the airport to catch a flight home.

"True to form, family first, she was going home to Texas to see her family for the holiday," said Roberts' colleague, Vince Mercuri. "She was trying to beat the morning rush hour."

Roberts worked in Indiana, Pennsylvania, as a crisis intervention specialist. She was recently accepted to New York University to pursue a law degree.

"She was a tremendous worker, a tremendous person. She's going to be sadly and desperately missed by us at the Open Door," Mercuri said.

Traffic was detoured off Route 28 at the 40th Street Bridge while the accident scene was cleared. All lanes reopened just before 6:30 a.m.

"It caused (a) major traffic incident, and obviously we want to get to the bottom of it," said Dan Cessna of PennDOT. "Any time we have an accident that involves a wrong-way driver, we want to get to the bottom of it. Where did this person get confused, what was the cause of factors that led to the incident, and we will do a full investigation."

The entrance to Route 28 has three signs warning drivers who are going the wrong way. Investigators have not said why Cope either didn't see or ignored the warnings, but Cessna said changes could be made to the road after the investigation.

"We want to get to the bottom of it," Cessna said. "Where did this person get confused? What were the cause and factors that led to the accident?"

Stay with Channel 11 News and wpxi.com for the latest developments.

Cox Media Group