Surveillance footage captured the harrowing moment when a woman in Pennsylvania drove the wrong way on a highway, leading to a tragic collision with a group of motorcyclists.
The incident involved a 24-year-old woman from New Jersey, who was seen speeding southbound on the I-476 northbound around 9 AM on Sunday, shortly before hitting two motorcyclists.
Authorities from Pennsylvania State Police were dispatched to the crash site at mile marker 67 in Washington Township.
One of the motorcyclists, 50-year-old John Joseph Sweeney, was declared dead at the scene, as stated in a press release.
At the time of the accident, Sweeney was riding a Harley Davidson motorcycle among a group of six cyclists.
An outpouring of condolences for Sweeney appeared on Facebook, as friends and family established a GoFundMe to support his two sons, Colin and Tyler.
‘John Sweeney was a loving father, brother, and son. He was truly a great individual,’ remarked the organizer of the fundraiser, Dawn Kaufmann, who is Sweeney’s future mother-in-law.
‘This tragedy occurred because of a reckless woman driving the wrong way on the turnpike, resulting in John’s death and Colin being forced to witness it, suffering injuries due to a careless driver.’
A 24-year-old woman from New Jersey was videoed speeding southbound on the I-476 northbound around 9am on Sunday moments before she struck two motorcyclists
‘This tragedy took place because an irresponsible woman drove the wrong way on the turnpike causing not only the death of John but for his son Colin to witness it and be injured because of a careless driver,’ said the GoFundMe for one of the motorcyclists
One of the cyclists, 50-year-old John Joseph Sweeney (pictured), was pronounced dead at the scene
A 24-year-old man who was also riding with the group sustained injuries and was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital Cedar Crest.
As per the fundraiser, Sweeney was soon to be a grandfather.
‘I don’t have the words; I just feel numb. You will be greatly missed. You had a heart of gold,’ a friend expressed. ‘My thoughts, prayers, and love are with your family.’
The driver, operating a Honda HRV, had sped past another motorist, Jack Carroll, whose friend attempted to alert him about the oncoming vehicle.
‘We were on the phone as I approached mile marker 67.5, and he exclaimed, “That woman is driving the wrong way. I need to go. I’ll call the police,”‘ Carroll recounted to WFMZ.
Carroll shared how his friend rounded a bend and was suddenly confronted by headlights, prompting him to start recording.
‘She sped past me. It wasn’t like she was going 30; she was cruising at 70, 80, or even 90 miles per hour. I was only going 65,’ Carroll said.
He learned about the fatality a few hours later while having lunch during their wheeling trip.
Jack Carroll (pictured) managed to catch the driver speeding past him on video just moments before the crash. ‘…she blew by me. It’s not like she was doing 30. She was doing 70,80, 90 miles per hour. I was doing 65,’ he said
‘We discovered the devastating news during lunch while on our wheeling trip, and it was a stark reminder that it could have easily been any one of us,’ he recalled.
‘I was livid. She’s endangering lives and preventing parents from returning home to their families. It resulted in the loss of a motorcyclist who was entirely uninvolved in this situation,’ Carroll added.
The driver reportedly suffered minor injuries, according to the news release.
Representatives from Pennsylvania State Police have yet to respond to inquiries from DailyMail.com.