Motorist seriously hurt in turnpike crash

Quick response by medics and firefighters saved the life of a Luzerne County motorist involved in a crash along the Northeast Extension of the turnpike Sunday afternoon. The crash occurred just before 3 p.m. in the northbound lanes at the 83.6 mile marker in Penn Forest Township. When emergency personnel arrived on scene they found a car wedged beneath the rear portion of a truck, the driver, identified as Phillip George, 58, of Freeland, seriously injured. The driver of the truck, Hugh Brown Sr., 42, of Williamsport, stated he was driving north at approximately 50 miles per hour in the right lane when he thought an earthquake hit. He stated his truck rose into the air then went all but broadside across the roadway. He said he thought the roadway had collapsed beneath him. He added when he pushed the accelerator on the truck it did not advance. When he climbed out of the cab to investigate he discovered the car underneath his truck. George was removed from the wreckage by members of the Franklin Township Fire Company who were assisted by Lehighton paramedics in treating him. A Medevac helicopter landed on the roadway just north of the scene. George was flown to the Lehigh Valley Hospital, in Salisbury Township. A second victim, , Hugh Brown Jr. 20, the son of the driver of the truck, was transported to an area hospital by Lehighton paramedics. The northbound lanes were closed for several hours. State police at the Pocono barracks are investigating the incident but believe the driver of the car for some unknown reason just drove into the rear of the truck.