Jul 23, 2021 By Steve Barrett 2 min read

State police said Tuesday the July 7 crash on Interstate 79 in Greene County that claimed the life of a Mt. Morris woman is still under investigation.

Donna M. Phillips, 45, died from injuries she suffered in the crash, according to her obituary published Monday.

State police released a public report July 8 indicating Phillips was involved in a head-on collision with a tractor-trailer on I-79 in Whiteley Township, just north of the Kirby Welcome Center. Phillips’ vehicle was also occupied by a 16-year-old female passenger at the time of the crash, police said.

The report states Phillips was driving south on the interstate about 4:45 p.m. July 7 when she lost control of her vehicle and crossed the median before crashing into the front of a northbound tractor-trailer operated by Jose Manzano Reyes, 44, of Hialeah, Fla.

Reyes and a passenger, Pedro Echemendia Reyes, 32, also of Hialeah, Fla., were not injured in the crash, police said.

The report states Phillips and the passenger in her car were taken by ambulance to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va. Police did not identify the passenger or release information on the severity of her injuries in the July 7 report.

Mt. Morris volunteer firefighters and PennDOT crew members assisted at the scene, temporarily closing down I-79 north between Mt. Morris and Kirby.

Police said Tuesday the investigation is ongoing, and no updated information was made available by press time.

According to her obituary, Phillips was a 1994 graduate of Waynesburg Central High School and was employed as a secretary for Greene County Children and Youth Services. She was a member of Valley Chapel Church in Brock.