A daughter and mother killed in a fiery crash in Fayette County on Thursday have been identified.
Police said Donna J. Morley, 61, and Maxine L. Morley, 79, both of Uniontown, died after their car went over a 15-foot embankment after colliding with a dump truck on Route 51 about two miles north of the city. Police said the younger woman was driving.
The dump truck operator, 47-year-old Donald L. Rutter, of Smock, also was killed.
Authorities did not release the names of the women on Thursday because they were having trouble notifying family members, according to Fayette County Deputy Coroner Elsie Dvorchak. She said relatives were located Friday night.
The crash occurred shortly after 9 a.m. in the northbound lanes of Route 51 in North Union Township. Police say the women's Ford Taurus was in the right lane. The truck was hauling gravel in the left lane when the Taurus swerved in front of it, police said.
After colliding, both vehicles skidded through a guide rail and over the embankment. When the vehicles hit the ground in the wooded area below, fire erupted.
Trooper Steven C. Dowlin, who is heading the crash investigation for the state police Uniontown barracks, said an accident reconstruction team is investigating.
Toys scattered at the crash scene raised concern among investigators that children may have been in the car. Dowlin said further investigation confirmed that the accident claimed no more than the three victims found.
Autopsies on the drivers of the two vehicles were performed yesterday. Dvorchak said the cause of death was major multiple blunt force trauma with third and fourth-degree burns. Authorities are awaiting toxicology test results also.
Dvorchak said a coroner's inquest into the accident will be scheduled.
