A pickup truck tore along a busy Pennsylvania road Saturday, striking vehicles over roughly a mile and a half before surveillance cameras captured the violent end of the crash.
The footage from Havertown Cafe shows the pickup racing toward stopped traffic near West Chester Pike and Eagle Road in Haverford Township. The truck crosses the area at high speed, becomes airborne and crashes among several vehicles near a U-Haul.
The pickup’s driver died at the scene. Eight other people were taken to hospitals with injuries that police described as non-life-threatening, according to NBC10 Philadelphia.
Police later identified the driver as 57-year-old John Ryan of Havertown. They believe he experienced a medical emergency before the series of collisions began, according to 6abc Philadelphia.
The Final Seconds
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The security footage captures only the end of a much longer sequence.
Haverford Township Police Chief John Viola told local reporters that the pickup began driving erratically near Darby Road and West Chester Pike shortly after noon on Oct. 3. It continued west toward Eagle Road, striking vehicles along the way.
Police initially described the crash as involving 14 vehicles. Later reporting from 6abc said 16 vehicles were damaged across the entire incident.
The final collision happened near Eagle Road, where the footage shows the pickup reaching stopped traffic, lifting off the ground and coming down amid the vehicles near a U-Haul.
Havertown Cafe sits directly across West Chester Pike from the final crash scene. Its security cameras recorded the impact while customers and employees inside reacted to the noise and rushed toward the windows.
Before The Crash
Police believe Ryan was experiencing a medical emergency while driving.
In a later update, police also confirmed that Ryan’s driver’s license had previously been revoked because of medical issues, 6abc reported.
Other motorists told police they had seen the pickup driving erratically before the final wreck. Viola said the crash sequence began near Darby Road and extended approximately 1.5 miles to Eagle Road.
Eight people were transported to hospitals. Police said their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, and no pedestrians were reported injured.
The crash unfolded during Haverford Township Day, when crowds and additional traffic were already in the area. Several police officers were also nearby for the event when the first calls came in.
A Long Scene
The collisions left damaged vehicles scattered along West Chester Pike rather than concentrated at a single intersection.
Early accounts described the pickup sideswiping several vehicles as it traveled west. Police then had to determine which damaged vehicles were part of the same sequence and whether any additional drivers had been struck before the pickup reached Eagle Road.
West Chester Pike was closed for several hours while crews worked through the scene and police documented the damage. The road reopened later Saturday afternoon.
Ryan was pronounced dead at the scene. Police continued working to identify every vehicle involved and reconstruct the path of the pickup after the medical emergency began.