Brake problem sends truck up runaway ramp

A Fayette County man was injured Friday when his 18-wheel truck with malfunctioning brakes successfully detoured onto a runaway truck ramp on a steep portion of U.S. Route 40 in Fayette County.

It appeared that the truck became airborne twice during its trip up the steeply inclined gravel ramp, despite carrying a heavy load of steel.

State police at Uniontown identified the driver as Jason Slusser of New Salem.

Rescue crews arrived to find Slusser had been ejected from the cab. Police said he was initially taken to The Uniontown Hospital and then transferred to a Pittsburgh facility. However, there was no record of his admission to a hospital.

Salvage workers on the scene estimated that the truck was carrying about 45,000 pounds of steel coils.

The accident occurred between the villages of Summit and Hopwood in South Union Township, along a stretch of U.S. Route 40 that was once used for hill-climb races.