UPDATE: The driver of the truck responsible for this morning’s crash is now in jail charged with DUI, reckless endangerment and other offenses.
An affidavit of probable cause stated that Hunter Robert Geslien of Conneticut was the driver behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer hauling scrap metal that was going East on Route 22 this morning in Burrell Township. When Geslien tried to make the turn onto Resort Drive, the truck fishtailed and overturned, spilling its contents and crashing into four other vehicles.
According to the criminal complaint. Geslien was charged with possessing a small amount of marijuana for personal use and also a “glass smoking pipe.” The complaint goes on to accuse Geslien of recklessly engaging “in conduct which placed or may have placed several victims to include Jonathan Sikora and Samuel Fleming Jr. in danger of death or serious bodily injury” while under the influence of a controlled substance and failing to stop for the red light at the intersection of Route 22 and Corporate Campus Driving. The complaint accuses Geslien of losing control of the truck and striking several other vehicles.
Other victims in the incident were not named. We know at least two person were taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries. Emergency crews were on the scene for four hours this morning to clean up the crash site, and traffic was slow this morning as motorists tried to make their way around the site.
State Police were the ones to file charges in the crash. Right now, Geslien is in jail in lieu of $25,000 straight cash bond.
WHAT WE PREVIOUSLY REPORTED:
At least two people were injured in a crash this morning on Route 22 in Burrell Township.
The crash started with a tractor-trailer hauling scrap metal west on Route 22, and the truck was going to make a turn onto Resort road near the Wal-Mart in Blairsville, according to Rochelle Stewart of the Blacklick Fire Department. The truck fishtailed and rolled over, sliding for a short distance on Route 22 in the east bound lanes.
Stewart added that two people were injured and taken to Indiana Regional Medical Center for treatment. Crews were on the scene since 7:48 this morning to clean up the scrap metal spilled from the truck and tow all the vehicles involved in the crash.
Four other vehicles were damaged, including severe damage to a pickup truck, and moderate damage to three other vehicles, including a Blairsville-Saltsburg School District Student Van. The van did not have students inside it, and the driver was one of the two injured in the crash. The conditions of those who went to the hospital are not known at this time.
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