State police say a woman died Tuesday morning after her vehicle crossed over the grass median on Route 28 in East Deer and went airborne before colliding with two oncoming vehicles.
Sheena Marie Fitzgerald, 36, of Penn Hills had been driving south at a high speed between the highway’s Tarentum and Pittsburgh Mills exits when the crash happened about 7:10 a.m., according to state police.
Fitzgerald, who was driving a purple Dodge Challenger, hit the right front bumper of a pickup while trying to pass the truck, which was in the left lane, state police said.
Fitzgerald then lost control of her car, and it went off the left side of the road and across the median, hitting the guardrail on the northbound lanes and going airborne, police said.
Her car then landed on the hood and windshield of a white Dodge Dart traveling north and then spun nearly 180 degrees into the right lane, where it hit a black Hyundai Kona also headed north, police said.
Fitzgerald died at the scene, police said.
The driver of the black car, a 48-year-old man from Duquesne, was taken to a hospital. The two other drivers involved in the crash — a 54-year-old man from Lower Burrell and a 19-year-old man from Kittanning — were not injured, police said.
The highway was shut down in both directions between East Deer and Tarentum while authorities investigated and removed the wreckage of two vehicles. The southbound lanes reopened first, followed by the northbound lanes shortly after 11:30 a.m.
Route 28 North closed at East Deer exit because of a crash. Dense fog in the area. Southbound 28 is backed up as traffic passes the scene. Heavy traffic into and through Tarentum as drivers make their way back to 28. pic.twitter.com/RrR8vkxagk
— Brian Rittmeyer (@BCRittmeyer) August 27, 2024
While the highway was closed, traffic was heavy into and through Tarentum as drivers were making their way back to Route 28.
Other agencies that assisted state police at the scene were Eureka EMS, Frazer and East Deer fire departments; Frazer and Allegheny Valley Regional police departments; and the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Brian C. Rittmeyer is a TribLive reporter covering news in New Kensington, Arnold and Plum. A Pittsburgh native and graduate of Penn State University's Schreyer Honors College, Brian has been with the Trib since December 2000. He can be reached at brittmeyer@triblive.com.