A teenage boy was killed in an early morning truck accident Saturday.

The accident occurred shortly before 1:00 a.m. on Friday when Frank Branan was traveling west on Route 156 in South Bend Township. Brenan was attempting to navigate a trun onto Craig Run Road, when he was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer truck driven by Robert Gilette.

Gilette was not injured in the crash. Branan, however, and three pasengers sustained minor injuries. 15 year-old Justin Boyer was transported via helicopter to UMPC Presbyterian in critical condition. He was pronounced dead fifteen hours later.

According to the state trooper on the scene, Chris Lassen, the truck driver did not see that the vehicle in front of him had slowed to take the turn. Lassen said “Irregardless [sic] of what Mr. Gilette stated to the state trooper, there is no excuse for driving without paying full attention to the road… Tractor trailers are essentially lethal weapons on the road, and truck drivers should have a heightened duty to leave a safe driving distance between their trucks and vehicles in front of them.”

If you or a loved one has been injured in a Pennsylvania car crash, please contact a Philadelphia personal injury lawyer of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. by calling 215-329-3511.