A wrong way driver caused a four-vehicle crash that left two people dead this morning including himself.
The deadly wreck, involving two tractor-trailers and two cars, shutdown the northbound Blue Route (I-476) for about three hours this morning.
Pennsylvania State Police say that Kent Michael Gans, 50, of Philadelphia, was driving his gold Oldsmobile Royale southbound in the northbound lanes when he crashed head on into a green Chevrolet Venture driven by Paul Wallendorf, 62, of Delaware City, Del. Both drivers died on the scene.
Family members told NBC10's Monique Braxton that Wallendorf was headed to his job at a courier service when his car was struck.
Two tractor-trailers trying to avoid the wreck swerved into it instead, according to police. Neither truck driver was hurt.
The wreck, which happened just before 3:45 a.m. near mile marker 8 in Marple Township, Pa., shutdown all lanes from Exit 5 (U.S. Route 1) to Exit 9 (Broomall).
Investigators are having difficulty figuring out where the man got on the highway because traffic cameras weren't rolling at the time.
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To clear the roadway, officials turned around vehicles stuck in the backup. They then were seen cleaning up debris and putting some sand on the asphalt to soak up any spilled oil or other substances.
All cars were being sent off the road at Route 1 causing a backup. Some alternate routes include Roue 252 and Route 320, NBC10's Jillian Mele said.
Around 6:30 a.m. some stopped traffic stuck behind the wreck began to snake by the scene on the northbound lanes but the roadway remained closed to other drivers until around 6:50 a.m.
Traffic continued to move southbound throughout but slowly due to the gaper delay.
The crash remains under investigation.
