Six die in wreck on I-90 along Ohio-Pa. border

A minivan carrying a group of Indian computer programmers and their wives on the way to a Niagara Falls vacation flipped and was struck  by a car driven by an Avon Lake woman in western Pennsylvania, killing six of seven people on board, officials say.

The van crossed a median on Interstate 90 and was hit about 4 p.m. Saturday, police said. They said it was about three miles inside the Pennsylvania-Ohio border when it crossed the highway and began flipping and rolling, coming to rest on its roof.

It was then struck by an oncoming westbound car driven by Melanie Cesnick, 25, of Avon Lake, police said.

She was treated at a hospital and released Saturday night, said state police Cpl. Kevin Havern.

The crash killed driver Kaushik Deb, 26, of Troy, Mich., and five of his six passengers — Manoj Jharia, 35; Mili Jharia, 28; Nitin Agarwal, 29; Swati Agarwal, 25; and Shubham Choudory, 24.

The sole survivor in the minivan, Nitin Gupta, 28, was sitting in the front passenger seat, Havern said. He was also treated and released from a hospital Saturday.

State police said there was no apparent cause of the crash. Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook said he has ordered toxicology tests for the minivan’s driver.

 

---

Print this story
Report an inappropriate comment

---

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.

Need help? Email Us.

---