A fatal crash on Route 581 in Cumberland County claimed the life of a 28-year-old Carlisle man and left two women critically injured late Sunday night, authorities said. The man, whose name has not been released pending notification of his family, was driving a vehicle that slammed into the back of a tow truck at a high speed, according to the Cumberland County Coroner’s Office and Pennsylvania State Police. The tow truck had its emergency flashers on and was trying to slow down traffic for another crash that had happened earlier. The two passengers in the vehicle, a 26-year-old woman from Carlisle and a 32-year-old woman from Mechanicsburg, were taken to a local hospital and put on life support.
The tow truck driver was evaluated at the scene for a possible injury, PSP said. The coroner was called to the scene around 9 p.m. after the collision, which occurred near the 581 eastbound on-ramp from Route 15. A nearby tow truck had responded to assist the vehicles involved in the previous crash when the third vehicle hit it. PennDOT’s Safety Press Officer Fritzi Schreffler confirmed that the other injuries from the crashes were not life-threatening. State Police conducted a crash reconstruction and reopened 581 around 2 a.m.