New Castle man thrown from SUV, seriously hurt in I-79 crash
A New Castle man was seriously hurt when he was thrown from his SUV in a crash on Interstate 79, state police said.
State police said the two-vehicle crash happened shortly after 7:30 p.m. Friday on the interstate in Lancaster Township, Butler County.
According to state police, Mark A. Wilhelm, 55, of New Castle, was driving north in the right lane when he tried to change lanes and hit another SUV driven in the left lane by Austin J. Pipes, 22, of Monroeville.
Both vehicles went off the west side of the road, hit an embankment, and rolled over. Wilhelm, who state police said was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown from his vehicle onto the road.
Police said Wilhelm suffered serious injuries and was taken to UPMC Passavant by ambulance. Pipes was not hurt.
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.
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