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State police identify man who died in Interstate 80 crash, release additional details

A New York man died Monday after a multivehicle crash along Interstate 80 in Spring Township, the Centre County Coroner’s Office and state police at Rockview said Tuesday.

A Somerset County man driving a 2018 Kenworth W900 attempted to merge onto I-80 from Interstate 99 about 6:29 p.m. Monday when the load in the trailer shifted and caused the vehicle to overturn, police wrote.

Jose Chirinos Ortega, 35, struck the overturned vehicle with his 1999 International Harvester 9800, police wrote. He died at the scene.

Both lanes on I-80 eastbound were closed for nearly 12 hours. The crash is under investigation.

Police were assisted by Eagle Towing, Bellefonte EMS, Mount Nittany Paramedic, the state Department of Transportation, the Centre County Emergency Management Agency and the Logan and Undine fire companies.

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Bret Pallotto
Centre Daily Times
Bret Pallotto primarily reports on courts and crime for the Centre Daily Times. He was raised in Mifflin County and graduated from Lock Haven University.
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