Two people were killed in a high-speed chain-reaction pileup on the Woodhaven Road expressway early Friday.
Robert Staruch, 45, of Jamison, Bucks County, died at Frankford Hospital’s Torresdale Campus on Sunday evening, less than three days after the Ford Neon in which he was riding reportedly slammed into a trailer-towing device that had broken free from a semi truck in the westbound lanes near Knights Road.
Willow Grove resident Alice Kaplan, 79, who was in the same car, died at the scene of the deadly crash, which occurred shortly after 4 a.m., said Philadelphia police Sgt. George Golden.
Meanwhile, a third passenger in the car, Ellen Schwartz, 70, of Warminster, was listed in fair condition at Frankford-Torresdale on Monday afternoon.
The car’s driver, John Schwartz, 53, of Warminster, was treated at the same hospital on the morning of the crash, then released. He is believed to be Ellen Schwartz’ nephew.
According to Golden, the driver of the tractor-trailer, Tywarren Bandy, 28, of Lexington, N.C., had dropped off a load in the Germantown area and was on his way to Route 1 north after exiting northbound Interstate 95.
In the vicinity of the Knights Road overpass, a two-wheeled dolly used to hitch multiple trailers together detached from the rear of Bandy’s rig, crossed the highway and smashed into the center guardrail, added police Lt. Tom Godlewski.
The stray object, weighing several hundred pounds, had no light reflecting devices on it, Golden said.
The unsuspecting motorists in the Ford collided with it. Moments later, an Oldsmobile minivan driven by Bensalem resident Jenell Baus, 30, contacted the Ford. That impact appeared to be less than that of the initial crash, Golden said.
Bandy and Baus were not injured, according to the police report. No criminal charges have been filed.
Police continue to investigate why the dolly became detached from the truck, Golden said. The truck is registered to Billings Freight Systems, Inc., of North Carolina, Godlewski said. ••