Indiana County Coroner Jerry Overman Jr. says the truck driver killed early yesterday in a crash on Route 22 in Burrell Township was 57-year-old Perry Bonasso of Coraopolis, Allegheny County.
Overman says a medical emergency may have occurred moments before Bonasso’s truck towing twin trailers rear-ended a loaded flatbed tractor trailer westbound on the western slope of Penn View Mountain. It happened at about 4:50 AM between Kettle Hollow Road and Palmerton Road. State police say the other driver, James McCloskey Jr. of East Freedom, Blair County, was not injured.
Police say Bonasso’s rig was going at “a significant rate of speed” and McCloskey’s was traveling slowly as they descended the mountain. Bonasso’s truck caught fire immediately upon impact.
The cause and manner of Bonasso’s death are as yet undetermined. Toxicology tests are expected to take several weeks.
The westbound lanes of Route 22 were closed for about ten hours for cleanup and investigation, reopening at around 3 PM.
