PA Turnpike Chairman Offers Apology to Travelers, Promises Thorough Review

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission Chairman Sean Logan, of Monroeville, Pa., has issued the following statement regarding the incident on Interstate 70/76 this weekend in Somerset and Bedford counties:

First and foremost, I want to offer my sincere apologies to all of the travelers who were stranded on the PA Turnpike during this unfortunate ordeal. All of us at the PA Turnpike, and everyone else on the response team, had you in our thoughts and prayers throughout the protracted rescue effort. We are all very relieved that nobody was seriously injured, and we are all pleased that most of the stranded travelers are now home or well on their way. I can promise you all that there will be a thorough analysis of the events that led up to this incident as well as a review of what occurred over the course of the last two and a half days. I want to be certain that we do a better job the next time something like this occurs, and that we can learn from this tragedy. An incident of this size and scope demands a protracted effort by many different groups and individuals, and we have many to thank for providing assistance, be it materials, manpower or support. Here is a list of most of the agencies and companies that pitched in, to whom we are indeed grateful (our apologies for any unintentional oversights):

Alum Bank Fire Co.

American Red Cross

Bedford County 911

Bedford County Emergency Management Agency

Bedford Fire Co.

Berlin Fire & EMS

CoGo's

Emergency Shelters: Bedford High School, Middle School and United Methodist Church

FEMA

Herring Motor Co. Towing

HMS Host Corp.

Interstate Towing

Lakewood Towing

LaSalles Garage

Local hotels and motels in Somerset and Bedford

Myers Garage

New Baltimore Fire Co.

PA Department of Corrections (busses and drivers)

PA Turnpike Concession Management Department

PA Turnpike Fare Collections Department

PA Turnpike Maintenance Department

PA Turnpike Traffic Operations Center

PEMA

PennDOT

Pennsylvania National Guard

Pennsylvania State Police Troop T and off-Turnpike Troops

Pleasantville Dollar General

Private and Public Bus Companies

Salvation Army

Shanksville Fire Co.

Shawnee Market

Shawnee Valley Ambulance

Shawnee Valley Fire Co.

Sheetz

Somerset 911

Somerset County Emergency Management Agency

Southern Cove Fire Co.

Subway

Volunteer citizens from communities along the Turnpike

Walmart Distribution

Waze

Wissingers Repairs

All other local fire and EMS companies responding…

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