Truck driver unhurt when rig hits autos

A Saltsburg coal truck driver escaped serious injury Wednesday morning after he lost control of his rig, which crashed into several unoccupied vehicles at an auto repair business in Derry Township.

Pete R. Prenni, 47, was driving the rig for Taylor Trucking of Blairsville and was traveling east on Route 22 near Hafer Road when he ran off the south berm and hit a culvert, sending the truck into an embankment, state police at the Kiski Valley barracks said.

Prenni's truck crossed the roadway and hit several vehicles parked at Kirkland's Automotive Repair, police said. Prenni's truck then rolled over before coming to rest.

All the vehicles sustained heavy damage, police said. They included a 1988 Pontiac owned by Marcia Croce of Blairsville; a 1999 Ford sedan owned by Jack Ross Motors of Blairsville; and a lawn tractor, trailer and 1969 Pontiac racing car, all owned by Mark Kirkland, police said.

Prenni was admitted to Latrobe Area Hospital, but hospital officials would not release his condition. Police said he suffered minor injuries.