150 people forced to evacuate vehicles due to fire in Pennsylvania Turnpike tunnel, officials say
WE’LL HIT THE 90S. WGAL NEWS EIGHT. TODAY STARTS NOW. WE’VE MADE IT TO FRIDAY. GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY. IT’S 430. I’M MATT BARCARO AND I’M BAILEY MARTIN HERE WITH CHIEF METEOROLOGIST CHRISTINE FERREIRA WITH A CHECK ON THAT WARM FORECAST. IT IS GOING TO GET HOT AND A LITTLE BIT STICKY AS WE HEAD TOWARD THE WEEKEND. I WANTED TO SHOW YOU THE STORMS THOUGH, THAT WE’VE BEEN TRACKING FOR SATURDAY. WE DO HAVE A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER THAT HAS BEEN UPGRADED BY THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER FOR MOST OF THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY, NORTH OF ROUTE 30, SOUTH OF ROUTE 30. THERE’S A LOWER CHANCE OF STORMS LATE SATURDAY EVENING, SO I’VE BEEN SEEING SOME VARIATION IN MODELING AS FAR AS TIMING, SOME STORMS MIGHT NOT COME THROUGH UNTIL LATE, WELL AFTER DARK, SO MOST OF YOUR SATURDAY DOES LOOK DRY. WE’LL KEEP A WATCHFUL EYE ON THIS LINE. IF IT DOES HOLD TOGETHER, IT COULD IMPACT YOU. LATE ON SATURDAY IN THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY. RIGHT NOW, THOUGH, WE JUST HAVE SOME HIGH CLOUDS PEELING THROUGH THE AREA. TEMPERATURES ARE IN THE 50S AND 60S. CERTAINLY A WARM UP FROM THE PAST FEW DAYS. AND LOOK AT OUR 12 HOUR FORECAST. A MIX OF SUN AND HIGH CLOUDS THIS MORNING. WE SIZZLE UP TO 92 TODAY. HUMIDITY STILL WON’T BE BAD TO TAKE, BUT IT WILL BE A BIT STICKIER COMPARED TO THE PAST FEW DAYS. BACK TO YOU. ALL RIGHT. THANKS, CHRISTINE. A WARNING AS YOU HEAD OUT FOR YOUR MORNING COMMUTE. STARTING TODAY, POLICE ARE ABLE TO ENFORCE THE NEW STATE LAW THAT BANS HAVING YOUR PHONE IN YOUR HAND WHILE BEHIND THE WHEEL. IT’S CALLED PAUL MILLER’S LAW. FOR THE PAST YEAR, POLICE HAVE BEEN HANDING OUT WARNINGS FOR VIOLATORS OF PAUL MILLER’S LAW. BUT STARTING TODAY, POLICE WILL START TO FIND DISTRACTED DRIVERS $50 PLUS COURT COSTS AND FEES. EVEN IF YOU’RE JUST SCROLLING ON YOUR PHONE WHILE STOPPED IN TRAFFIC OR AT A RED LIGHT. DRIVERS WHO USE BLUETOOTH OR OTHER HANDS FREE VOICE ACTIVATED TECHNOLOGY ARE EXEMPT FROM THIS, AND DRIVERS IN EMERGENCIES WILL BE ABLE TO USE THEIR PHONES AS WELL. NEWS EIGHT’S SUSAN SHAPIRO SPOKE TO PAUL MILLER’S MOTHER, EILEEN, ON A RECENT EPISODE OF WGAL8 IN FOCUS. WE WILL LINK TO THAT VIDEO ON OUR HOME PAGE. WGAL.COM. YOU CAN ALSO FIND IT ON THE VERY LOCAL APP ON ROKU AND AMAZON FIRE TV. AND IN THE NEXT HOUR OF NEWS EIGHT, TODAY, WE’LL BE JOINED BY THE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR TRAFFIC SAFETY IN YORK ABOUT WHAT YOU SHOULD DO WITH YOUR PHONE NOW IN YOUR CAR, AND HOW POLICE WILL BE ENFORCING THIS NEW LAW. HAPPENING TODAY, DEMOCRATIC STATE SENATOR JAMES MALONE, WHO SERVES PART OF LANCASTER COUNTY, IS PLANNING ON HOSTING A ROUNDTABLE ON BIKE SAFETY AS ACCIDENTS INVOLVING E-BIKES ARE INCREASING, THE U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION FOUND THAT THERE HAVE BEEN 233 E-BIKE RELATED DEATHS SINCE 2017. THE SENATOR SAYS HE PLANS ON DISCUSSING WAYS TO REGULATE THE USE OF E-BIKES AT THE STATE LEVEL. IN A MEMO TO THE STATE LEGISLATURE, THE DEMOCRATIC SENATOR SERVING PART OF LANCASTER COUNTY SAYS HE PLANS TO INTRODUCE A BILL IN THE STATE SENATE TO ADD MORE REGULATIONS ON OUR WEBSITE, WGAL.COM, WE HAVE A LIST OF GUIDELINES THE STATE ALREADY HAS IN PLACE IN DAUPHIN COUNTY. A MAN WAS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY AFTER POLICE SAY HE WAS DRIVING MORE THAN 100MPH UNDER THE INFLUENCE. LOWER PAXTON TOWNSHIP POLICE ARRESTED CHANDRA BASNET ON WEDNESDAY AFTER THEY SAY HE CRASHED WITH ANOTHER CAR ON LINGLESTOWN ROAD. THIS WAS ON MAY 30TH. BASNET AND TWO PEOPLE IN THE OTHER CAR WENT TO THE HOSPITAL WITH SERIOUS INJURIES. POLICE SAY HIS BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVEL WAS THREE TIMES THE LEGAL LIMIT AND HE HAD ILLEGAL DRUGS IN HIS SYSTEM. BASNET IS CHARGED WITH AGGRAVATED ASSAULT AND DUI. WE’RE WORKING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT A BODY FOUND IN THE SUSQUEHANNA RIVER. DAUPHIN COUNTY DISPATCHERS SAY EMERGENCY CREWS WERE CALLED OUT THERE JUST BEFORE 330 YESTERDAY AFTERNOON. SWATARA TOWNSHIP POLICE AND THE DAUPHIN COUNTY CORONER WERE CALLED TO THAT SCENE. RIGHT NOW, LEBANON POLICE ARE INVESTIGATING AFTER A STUDENT WAS STABBED BEHIND THE HIGH SCHOOL. POLICE SAY THIS HAPPENED JUST BEFORE 11:00 YESTERDAY MORNING AFTER THE STUDENTS WERE DISMISSED FOR THE DAY. LEBANON POLICE SAY SEVERAL TEENS WERE FIGHTING WHEN ONE OF THEM STABBED ANOTHER STUDENT. THAT STUDENT WAS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL IS EXPECTED TO BE OKAY. RESIDENTS IN YORK CAME TOGETHER TO DISCUSS WAYS TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE IN THE CITY. COMMUNITY LEADERS, ADVOCATES AND RESIDENTS GATHERED LAST NIGHT WITH THE GROUP VIOLENCE INTERVENTION TEAM. THEY SHARED IDEAS ABOUT HOW TO CONTINUE WORKING TO MAKE YORK CITY SAFER. THEY SAY THAT WORK IS NOT DONE YET. LET’S START TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT ALL THE THINGS THAT WE’RE DOING RIGHT, AND HOW WE CAN DO MORE OF IT, HOW WE CAN GET MORE PEOPLE INVOLVED, HOW WE CAN HAVE BIGGER IMPACT. POLICE COMMISSIONER MICHAEL MULDROW SAYS THIS MARKS THE FOURTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR GUN DEATHS HAVE BEEN IN SINGLE DIGITS IN THE CITY, CREDITING THE EFFORTS OF GROUPS LIKE GVI. MAJOR SETBACK FOR NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE OWNERS OF HERSHEY PARK AND THE UNION THAT WORKS AT THE PARK, AND OTHER HERSHEY OWNED ENTITIES. WORKERS MAKE UP WHO MAKE UP THE UNION DID NOT RATIFY A TENTATIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN NEGOTIATORS. THAT’S ACCORDING TO HERSHEY ENTERTAINMENT AND RESORTS. THE COMPANY SAID THEY ARE DISAPPOINTED THAT THE TENTATIVE AGREEMENTS WERE NOT RATIFIED. WE RESPECT THE OUTCOME OF THE MEMBERSHIP VOTE AND THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING PROCESS. NOW, A UNION WORKER TOLD NEWS EIGHT THAT THE UNION TOOK A STRIKE VOTE. THERE ARE TWO VOTES THAT NEED TO HAPPEN FOR A STRIKE TO HAPPEN. THE FIRST IS AN AUTHORIZATION VOTE. THAT ESSENTIALLY JUST MEANS THAT A UNION CAN STRIKE. THE SECOND IS THE ACTUAL VOTE TO GO ON STRIKE. IT’S NOT CLEAR WHERE THE UNION IS IN THAT PROCESS. TWO PEOPLE IN DAUPHIN COUNTY ARE CHARGED AFTER POLICE SAY HUNDREDS OF, QUOTE, STREET RATS WERE DISCOVERED LIVING IN A CONDEMNED HOME IN STEELTON. 37 YEAR OLD THOMAS BUSH AND 43 YEAR OLD JENNIFER BUSH ARE FACING MULTIPLE CHARGES, INCLUDING CRUELTY TO ANIMALS AND CRIMINAL TRESPASSING. POLICE SAY JENNIFER BUSH SAID SHE HAD CAPTURED ABOUT 150 BABY RATS AND WAS CARING FOR THEM IN A HOME ON SOUTH HARRISBURG STREET. COURT DOCUMENTS SAY THAT HOME HAD BEEN CONDEMNED SINCE JULY OF 2025, WITH AN ADDITIONAL NOTICE POSTED IN OCTOBER 2025. BECAUSE OF THE INFESTATION, CONSTELLATION ENERGY WAS GIVEN APPROVAL TO WITHDRAW MORE THAN 73 MILLION GALLONS OF WATER FROM THE SUSQUEHANNA RIVER EVERY DAY TO SUPPORT A PLANNED RESTART OF THE FORMER THREE MILE ISLAND PLANT IN DAUPHIN COUNTY, ACCORDING TO THE RIVER BASIN, SUSQUEHANNA RIVER BASIN COMMISSION. THAT AMOUNTS TO ABOUT LESS THAN HALF A PERCENT OF THE RIVER’S DAILY FLOW. CONSTELLATION ENERGY SAYS THE WATER WILL HELP POWER THE FACILITY AS PART OF A PROPOSED RESTART OF THE NUCLEAR PLANT NE
150 people forced to evacuate vehicles due to fire in Pennsylvania Turnpike tunnel, officials say
Updated: 5:17 AM EDT Jun 5, 2026
More than a hundred people were forced to evacuate their vehicles due to a fire in a tunnel on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, according to the PA Turnpike Commission. Video above: Headlines from WGAL News 8 Today.Officials said a vehicle fire broke out in the Allegheny Tunnel in Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, on Thursday, prompting a large emergency response. The turnpike was shut down in both directions between Exit 161, Breezewood, and Exit 75, New Stanton, for an extended time. 150 people evacuated Officials said approximately 150 people from nearly 8 vehicles were evacuated from the tunnel and transported by bus to one of the turnpike maintenance sheds. Residents were returned to their vehicles around 2:45 a.m., and the road reopened around 3:20 a.m. The commission said the westbound tunnel remains closed for inspection, and traffic is being directed through the eastbound tunnel in both directions. Drivers are reminded to slow down, use caution and obey all traffic signs. At this time, it’s unclear if anyone was injured. PA Turnpike Commission response: “On behalf of the PA Turnpike Commission, we want to extend our deepest gratitude to all of those who supported this event and worked tirelessly to ensure the safety of motorists and personnel, including the Pennsylvania State Police, local fire and EMS agencies, emergency management partners, and all supporting agencies. “Special recognition goes to our dedicated PA Turnpike maintenance, operations, traffic management, engineering teams, who supported customers and emergency operations, and worked to restore normal operations. “Lastly, a big thank you to our customers for their patience, cooperation and flexibility during the incident as crews worked to safely reopen the roadway.”We are committed to providing a safe, reliable and customer-valued toll road system and are proud of the collaborative effort demonstrated throughout the incident.”Stay with WGAL for updates as we learn more. See news happening? Send us your photos or videos if it’s safe to do so at https://www.wgal.com/upload.
STONYCREEK TOWNSHIP, Pa. —
More than a hundred people were forced to evacuate their vehicles due to a fire in a tunnel on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, according to the PA Turnpike Commission.
Officials said a vehicle fire broke out in the Allegheny Tunnel in Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, on Thursday, prompting a large emergency response.
The turnpike was shut down in both directions between Exit 161, Breezewood, and Exit 75, New Stanton, for an extended time.
150 people evacuated
Officials said approximately 150 people from nearly 8 vehicles were evacuated from the tunnel and transported by bus to one of the turnpike maintenance sheds.
Residents were returned to their vehicles around 2:45 a.m., and the road reopened around 3:20 a.m.
The commission said the westbound tunnel remains closed for inspection, and traffic is being directed through the eastbound tunnel in both directions.
Drivers are reminded to slow down, use caution and obey all traffic signs.
At this time, it’s unclear if anyone was injured.
PA Turnpike Commission response:
“On behalf of the PA Turnpike Commission, we want to extend our deepest gratitude to all of those who supported this event and worked tirelessly to ensure the safety of motorists and personnel, including the Pennsylvania State Police, local fire and EMS agencies, emergency management partners, and all supporting agencies.
“Special recognition goes to our dedicated PA Turnpike maintenance, operations, traffic management, engineering teams, who supported customers and emergency operations, and worked to restore normal operations.
“Lastly, a big thank you to our customers for their patience, cooperation and flexibility during the incident as crews worked to safely reopen the roadway.
“We are committed to providing a safe, reliable and customer-valued toll road system and are proud of the collaborative effort demonstrated throughout the incident.”
Stay with WGAL for updates as we learn more.
See news happening? Send us your photos or videos if it’s safe to do so at https://www.wgal.com/upload.