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Man killed in crash on I-76

Special to the Tribune Chronicle / WKBN 27 One person was killed and four others injured in a chain-reaction crash Thursday morning on Interstate 76 in Jackson Township involving three semi trucks and two vans. Mark Schaas of New Castle, Pa., was killed and his passenger, William Lawrence, was taken by helicopter to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital with serious injuries after being mechanically removed from the vehicle.

JACKSON — When the driver of a tractor trailer slammed into the back of another tractor trailer stopped Thursday morning because of construction on Interstate 76, it caused a five-vehicle crash that killed a man and sent four others to the hospital.

Mark Schaas, 53, of New Castle, Pa., was killed and his passenger William Lawrence was taken by helicopter to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital with serious injuries after he was extricated from the wreck, according to the Canfield post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

The van Schaas was driving was pinned between two tractor trailers after the truck driven by Robert Brock of Saratoga Springs, Utah, struck a stopped tractor trailer behind Schaas, which was driven by Kevin Roberts of Fort Wayne, Ind.

Brock was trapped in the cab of the tractor trailer, which caught fire, before he was rescued and taken by helicopter to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital with serious injuries. Roberts was seriously injured and transported to the hospital as well.

The vehicle Schaas was driving slammed into the tractor trailer stopped in front of him, driven by Steven Cole of Apple Creek, who was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Guy Garner, who was not injured, was driving a Ford van when it was hit by the cab belonging to Roberts’ truck, which detached when it was struck.

Schaas died at the scene. He was a sports announcer in New Castle, according to Tribune Chronicle news partner WKBN 27.

The westbound lane where the crash happened just before 11 a.m. near the state Route 45 overpass was closed for six after the crash.

The Ohio Department of Transportation rerouted traffic around the area, diverting traffic to state Route 46 in Austintown.

Fire departments from Jackson, Austintown and Lordstown assisted. The patrol is investigating the crash and no charges have been filed, according to a news release from patrol Lt. J.R. Sutton.

rfox@tribtoday.com

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