GREENSBURG, Pa. — Snow across Westmoreland County caused a busy day Monday for police and other first responders.
“We didn’t have a ton of crashes, but we definitely had more than normal,” said Trooper Steve Limani, with the Pennsylvania State Police.
Troopers were called to the parking lot of an orthopedic office on Pellis Road in Hempfield Township just before 8 a.m. Monday for reports that a man was hit by a plow truck.
“It’s kind of a little bit of a freak incident,” Limani said.
Troopers say 74-year-old Paul Tucci was hit by the back side of that plow truck, which was operated by Westmoreland Landscapes LLC. It also had a salt spreader attached to it.
They believe Tucci had just left a doctor’s appointment – and wasn’t run over by the truck, but was either dragged or pushed.
“We’re lucky that we had some witnesses, because from the way it was described to me, the driver didn’t even realize,” Limani said.
Tucci was first taken to a local hospital and then to Pittsburgh. Right now, police say it’s too early to determine who is at fault.
“It didn’t appear he was doing any reckless driving in the parking lot or any crazy negligent acts that you would think but it’s real early in our investigation,” Limani added.
Despite that, troopers say everyone needs to be aware of their surroundings in the snow.
“We’re early on into our season, so maybe we can just be vigilant so we don’t have any other accidents like this take place,” Limani said.
Police are asking anyone who may have seen the crash, or any businesses in the area by Pellis Road that might have cameras, to reach out to troopers.
Tucci has serious injuries, but troopers believe he’s expected to be okay.
“It’s just a horrible tragedy and we just hope he survives his injuries and our prayers go out to his family,” Limani said.
Channel 11′s Andrew Havranek reached out to Westmoreland Landscaping LLC about the accident, but did not hear back.
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