Truck stopped on I-86 bridge causes pileup, then flees

NORTH HARMONY – A multi-car collision – that started with a truck that was stopped on the Chautauqua Lake Bridge along Interstate 86 – left one woman with minor injuries and several other drivers with vehicle damage. The truck, however, fled the scene, and has not been found, according to the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office.

The pile-up began at about 3:20 p.m. Saturday when a vehicle driven by Ryan Houser of Erie, Pa., collided with the older-model, white work-truck that was stopped in the driving lane of I-86, deputies said, The white truck, deputies said, fled as Houser remained in his vehicle waiting for help. A third vehicle, driven by Sharon Hilyer of Clarendon, Pa., came to a stop behind Houser’s vehicle, but a fourth, driven by Jeffrey Schaffhouser of Brighton, Mich., ran into Hilyer’s vehicle, deputies said.

A fifth vehicle, driven by Kenneth Sorensen of Russell, Pa., was unable to avoid the wreckage and side-swiped one of the vehicles, deputies said.

Hilyer was taken to WCA Hospital in Jamestown by Bemus Point Ambulance for treatment of minor injuries, according to deputies.

The investigation is continuing, with deputies continuing to search for the white truck.