Authorities in Jefferson County have confirmed with 6News that the driver of a truck that crashed off of a bridge on Route 119 northbound on Monday was flown to Altoona Trauma with serious injuries.
 
According to firefighters, a commercial truck was driving down the hill toward downtown Punxsutawney around 3 p.m. when it lost control, crashed through the guardrail and landed on its roof.
 
First responders told 6News that the driver was conscious when he was rescued from the crushed cab and that a dozen large motor oil barrels, as well as antifreeze on board the truck, leaked after the crash.
 
April Lunger said she heard two loud booms from inside her house, which is near the Mahoning Shadow section of Rails to Trails, where the truck crashed.
 
"It was a little bit of a delay between the first and the rest,” said Lunger. “If you look, the side of the bridge is gone. I don't know if that went first and he tipped down, over or what. It was really loud."
 

Several eyewitnesses told 6News that the truck appeared to have lost its breaks and was aiming to use the gravel runaway truck emergency ramp at the base of the hill when it crashed.
 
Jacob Palaschak said he was pumping gas at Satterlee when he witnessed the final moments of the crash.  
 
 "I heard whenever it broke through the guardrail. I looked up and saw it going over and I heard it whenever it crashed down at the bottom,” said Palaschak. “It was pretty crazy stuff."
 
 Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency Director Tracy Zents told 6News that a portion of the Rails to Trails path and wetlands underneath the bridge were contaminated by the oil and antifreeze, and that the quick action of volunteer firefighters prevented the fluids from reaching the nearby Mahoning Creek.
 
“The watershed here for Punxsutawney borough, a lot of the city water, it's not going to effect it, but the sewer plant is downstream from here, so we want to stop it from getting into their intakes as well to try to prevent any kind of problems down there, and again, to keep it from migrating into the ground and killing the wildlife,” said Zents.

The truck was removed by crane on Monday night; environmental cleanup is expected to take several days.