Fayette County man killed in all-terrain vehicle crash
A Connellsville man was killed Saturday afternoon when the all-terrain vehicle he was riding crashed in Connellsville Township.
Officials from the Fayette County Coroner’s office said Joseph Lee Foster, 20, was pronounced dead at Highlands Hospital in Connellsville shortly after the crash.
The accident occurred around 2 p.m. in a wooded area behind the Connellsville Sewage Plant, according to volunteer firefighters.
Firefighters said two helicopters were summoned to the scene immediately following the crash to take Foster and another person, who was also injured in the crash, to area hospitals.
Officials said they had a difficult time accessing the crash site and that emergency personnel had to use all-terrain vehicles to get to the victims.
The second injured rider, an 11-year-old child, was extracted from the woods by crews using an ATV and then flown to UPMC-Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh hospital for treatment.
State police Trooper Alec J. Hamilton said that the child is being held for observation but did not disclose any additional details regarding the child’s injuries. Police did not name the child.
Officials from the coroner’s office said an autopsy will not be conducted for Foster but noted that an official cause of death will remain pending toxicology tests.
Volunteer firefighters from New Haven Hose Co. and Connellsville Township were joined at the scene by emergency personnel from Fayette EMS and the state police.
It is not clear how the crash occurred and police are continuing to investigate.