This article is more than 8 months old

This article is more than 8 months old

A crash involving a passenger bus and multiple other vehicles on the Pennsylvania Turnpike left at least five people dead and dozens injured early on Sunday, shutting down a large portion of the highway.

Officials said at least 60 people, ranging in age from seven to 52 years old, were hospitalized with unknown injuries after the crash that happened at 3.40am in Westmoreland county, around 30 miles east of Pittsburgh.

Photos from the scene showed mangled vehicles including an overturned bus, two tractor-trailers, passenger cars and a smashed FedEx truck that left packages scattered along the highway.

The images appeared to show the bus was an Ohio Coach vehicle. The company runs an express bus service between New York City, Ohio and Kentucky, according to its website. Messages were left with the company seeking comment.

FedEx did not provide any other details besides that it was cooperating with authorities.

Twenty-five injured people were transported to Excela Frick Hospital in Mt Pleasant, Excela Health spokeswoman Robin Jennings said. Nine were under the age of 18. At least one of the 25 people initially sent to Excela was transported to a nearby trauma center and the rest of the patients’ conditions were not known, Jennings said.

Information about what caused the accident was not immediately available, and National Transportation Safety Board investigators were called to the scene. The National Weather Service forecast for Westmoreland county early on Sunday listed light unknown precipitation and an air temperature just below freezing.

Pennsylvania Turnpike spokesman Carl DeFebo said it was “premature” to say if weather was a factor in the crash. He added that a portion of the turnpike would be closed for the rest of the day.