SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, Pa. — Editor's note: The video, courtesy of WNEP, is from April 11.
Pennsylvania State Police have released the identities of the six people killed in a massive pileup on Interstate 81 during a snow squall last month in Schuylkill County.
Two of the victims were from Carlisle, Cumberland County, police say. They have been identified as Rita Matos, 40, and Edward Ramos, 43.
The other victims are:
Terri Stull, 56, of Lexington, Mass.
Douglas Teeter, 57, of Lexington, Mass.
William Douglas, 69, of Pine Grove, W.Va.
Domingo Diaz, 66, of Brooklyn, N.Y.
The Schuylkill County Coroner's office used DNA samples to help identify the victims of the March 28 crash.
Officials said earlier that the victims of the March 28 crash near the Minersville exit of I-81 were all between the ages of 40 to 70-years-old and all burned beyond recognition.
“All of the decedents were found in the group of vehicles that were on fire,” Deputy Coroner Albert Barnes said.
The stretch of Interstate 81 north of Pottsville where the crash occurred was closed for nearly 40 hours after 80 vehicles were caught up in a chain-reaction crash during a period of low visibility because of a snow squall.
The crash involved 39 trucks and commercial vehicles and 41 passenger vehicles, according to state police.
It took rescue and recovery crews nearly two days to open the northbound lanes near the Minersville exit. They first had to deal with the immediate aftermath of the crash and the injured and then a massive fire that burned for nearly a day.
What followed was a difficult effort to clear the wreckage. Then, PennDOT had to repair the highway.