A mother and her child died after they were thrown from a car in a crash on Interstate 70 in Washington County Sunday afternoon.
The crash happened around 1 p.m. near the Claysville exit, authorities said.
According to state police, the car was heading west toward the state line with West Virginia when the man driving it lost control. The car went up and over the center median — described as a roughly 20-foot hill embankment — and traveled down the hill gaining speed into the eastbound lanes.
The car hit an eastbound tractor-trailer, causing the car to spin out. The woman, who was in the front passenger seat, and a toddler in the back seat were thrown out of the car.
According to the Washington County coroner’s office, the driver and the front-seat passenger were not wearing seat belts, and the toddler was not in a child seat.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.
The toddler was taken by helicopter to UPMC Washington Hospital and died in the emergency department, according to the coroner’s office.
The coroner did not immediately release their names.
The driver was flown to a Pittsburgh-area hospital, the coroner’s office said. State police described his injuries as minor.
The tractor-trailer was pushed off the road, where it went up a hill and hit an occupied home.
The driver of the tractor-trailer and people inside the home were evaluated and released, state police said.
State police did not say how many people were in the house.
An investigation is ongoing.