STRONG - A tanker-truck jackknifed when the driver tried to stop on Route 54 at the intersection with Route 61 Friday evening, sending the empty tanker spinning around to the front of the truck and smashing into a car stopped in front of it.
The impact pushed the Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight Royale across the four lanes of Route 61.
A 5-year-old boy and the female driver of the car were transported to Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, following the crash, which occurred in rainy conditions at about 5 p.m. They were later released, police said.
Mount Carmel Township Police patrolman David Stamets said the boy, who was riding in the back seat, was conscious and alert, but complaining of pain. The driver, he said, was experiencing numbness and pain in her legs at the scene.
Stamets did not have their names available Friday evening.
Another male passenger in the Royale, who Stamets said was the uncle of the youth, was not injured.
Stamets said Travis Waite, 21, of Middleburg, was driving the tanker-truck, which hauls milk.
He and the Oldsmobile driver were headed west on Route 54 when Waite said he saw the traffic light change from green to red and the vehicle in front of him stopped. Waite said he hit his brakes, but they locked, causing the jackknife.
The impact destroyed the rear end of the car and pushed it through the intersection. It came to rest on the west berm of the road near the Turkey Hill Minit Market.
The truck is owned by Tom Bowman Trucking, Bloomsburg.
Assisting police at the scene were members of the Mount Carmel and Strong Fire and Rescue companies, Elysburg Ambulance and AREA Services ambulance.