An Allentown man was arrested and charged in a deadly fiery crash that closed I-78 for hours.
Robert Wayne Gawne Sr.(pictured), 55, was arrested last Thursday and charged with vehicular homicide, involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and traffic violations.
On the morning of Jan. 13, police say Daniel Murphy of Hackettstown, N.J. was stopped in toll lane 4 of I-78 near Morgan Hill Road in Williams Township. As Murphy was in the lane, police say a ShopRite tractor-trailer driven by Gawne rammed into Murphy's 200 Ford Taurus wagon.
The force of the crash carried both vehicles through the tollbooth -- Murphy's wagon becoming stuck under the big rig. Parts of the wreckage slammed into the tollbooth before coming to a stop several lanes over against an embankment and bursting into flames, sending smoke billowing into the air.
"It's a terrible sight," said Pennsylvania State Trooper Marc Allen at the time of the crash.
Murphy, 65, was trapped in the wreckage and died at the scene. Gawne got out and was transported to a local hospital, according to ShopRite.
A tollbooth worker who ran towards the fiery crash with a fire extinguisher was also injured.
Witnesses claimed they saw the tractor-trailer swerving and moving quickly before the crash. State Police told the Morning Call that Gawne admitted to nodding off about a half hour before the crash.
Police stopped westbound traffic and closed the tollbooths for hours. The backup spread all the way back to New Jersey where police diverted cars off the highway.
After several hours, the lanes reopened.
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The tollbooth that was damaged in the crash will reopen on Tuesday though it will only handle E-Z pass transactions for now. Officials say more repairs are needed before it can handle cash transactions.
Gawne was arrested on Thursday and sent to county prison after being unable to post $50,000 bail. He is also a registered sex offender with a primary offense of sexual assault, according to the Megan's Law website.
ShopRite released a brief statement following the wreck that in part read: "...Our thoughts and sympathies go out to the families of all involved in this terrible accident."
