Shenango Firefighters free trapped crash victim on I-80, trucker cited

A Brooklyn, New York, man was cited after a commercial truck he was driving sideswiped a minivan in Mercer County on Interstate 80 Saturday, trapping a passenger in the smaller vehicle.

According to a Pennsylvania State Police news release, Taras Kononets, 40, was driving a truck westbound in the right lane of I-80 just before 6 p.m. when he failed to move into the left lane for a work zone. The truck hit a 2018 Dodge Caravan driven by Tyler Smith, 28, of Parma, Ohio.

The Shenango Township Fire Department said in a social media post that one person was trapped in the minivan after the crash. Crews used a hydraulic tool to perform a "door pop" and extricate the victim.

No injuries were reported.

The minivan was towed from the scene. Kononets was cited for failure to drive on roadways laned for traffic.

Download the WFMJ app for your Apple or Android smartphone or tablet to get our push alerts as news happens.