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Slippery Rock Student and National Guardsman, 22, Identified in Fatal I-79 Whiteout Crash

Police say the Erie resident was returning to campus, crashing into a semi that had been struck moments earlier.

Overview

  • The three-vehicle collision occurred Jan. 15 around 11:45 a.m. on I-79 south near mile marker 122 in Jackson Township, Mercer County.
  • State police reported a stopped semi in the right lane was rear-ended by a second semi, which came to rest in the left lane before Austin Golab’s car struck its rear.
  • The Mercer County Coroner said Golab was pronounced dead at the scene from blunt force trauma to the head and chest, and the death was ruled accidental.
  • Troopers said conditions were whiteout on snow-covered roads, and the National Weather Service warned drivers that even light snow can create dangerous interstate travel.
  • The driver of the second semi was hospitalized with unknown injuries, and the crash closed the interstate for about four hours as crews responded.