A Lehighton woman was killed and her husband airlifted as a result of a violent crash that occurred at 11:38 a.m. Wednesday in Tamaqua that closed SR309 near the Hess Express gas station for about five hours.

Traffic was backed up in all directions while Tamaqua firefighters and Tamaqua Rescue volunteers used the hydraulic extrication equipment to remove the doors and panels off the couple's SUV.Helen Sparich, 71, was pronounced dead at the scene by Schuylkill County Assistant Coroner E. Franklin Griffiths. The victim was a passenger in a red 2008 Subaru Forester driven by her husband, Salvatore Sparich, 75, of Lehighton, who was Life-Flighted to St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem.According to Tamaqua Police, while driving north on SR309 into Tamaqua from South Tamaqua, Besik Gambashidze of Philadelphia, operating a tractor trailer leased from Penske Trucking, was unable to brake in time and struck stopped traffic. The tractor trailer impacted the back of Subaru Forester, driven by Salvatore Sparich, which was then pushed into the rear of a blue commercial van driven by Gerald Piacenti Jr. of Piacenti Trucking and Excavating Inc., Hazleton. The van almost flipped, and parts and equipment were spewed over the road.This also caused the van to be pushed sideways into the rear of an explosives dynamite truck owned by Maurer and Scott Inc. of Tamaqua. Only minor damage was done to the explosives truck.Tamaqua Police Chief Dave Mattson said that this had the potential to be far more deadly, pointing out the explosive cargo of the Maurer and Scott truck. The explosives truck was documented and released from the scene early due to federal transportation regulations that prevent vehicles that carry explosives to be in one spot for a long period of time.Tractor trailers stood parked in both directions on SR309 near the crash as Tamaqua Police used spray paint to mark the positions of the vehicles involved.State Police Accident Reconstruction and Investigation Division, R & I Unit, Reading was called to reconstruct the accident, as was a state Department of Transportation truck inspector, police said.State police spent several hours reconstructing the complex accident, using specialized recording equipment and measuring tools.Tamaqua firefighters spent time cleaning gallons of oil that was leaking from the tractor trailer.Traffic was backed up in all directions in and out of Tamaqua. More than 30 fire police volunteers from Tamaqua, Hometown, Coaldale, West Penn, Summit Hill, and New Ringgold fire companies were staged at multiple intersections as they detoured the heavy traffic around the congested SR309 during both the response and Pennsylvania State Police reconstruction.Also assisting Tamaqua and state police were Coaldale, Rush Township, West Penn Township Police and Tamaqua fire companies.No other injuries were reported. Charges are pending against Gambashidze, police said."This is just a small example of how this road is dangerous due to the of amount of traffic on it and it's not moving through the borough in a smooth manner without backups," said Mattson.George Mermon, owner of Mermon Motors, located near the accident, and volunteers with the Tamaqua Volunteers group, donated pizza, hoagies and refreshments to all the responders."This is a highly-traveled road with a lot of aggressive driving on it. That is why we will be here this week and next week doing Click It or Ticket to enforce the speed," said Tamaqua Police Officer Michael Hobbs.PennDOT knows about the congestion and plans on spending nearly $2 million on improvements over the next few years.