Some accidents are unavoidable, but we are wondering whether the deadly accident last month in the Lehigh Tunnel could have been prevented.

Tractor-trailer driver Howard M. Sexton III of Mickleton, East Greenwich Township, New Jersey, was driving through the southbound tube of the tunnel on the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike when an electrical conduit fell from the tunnel’s ceiling, ripped through the windshield and struck Sexton on the head.

Sexton was a driver for Raymour & Flanigan for 20 years. He is survived by his wife and six children.

It gives us chills just thinking of how much worse this incident could have been. Police are not sure whether Sexton, despite being mortally wounded, was able to guide the truck to a safe stop along the right shoulder of the highway in Washington Township, Lehigh County, about a mile from where the conduit hit the vehicle, or whether it was dumb luck that the tractor-trailer didn’t crash into other cars and trucks, causing more deaths and injuries.

Another possibility: The electrical conduit could have struck a passenger car or van, leading to multiple deaths and injuries.

It was four hours later that state police and a turnpike safety squad checked on why the truck had been stopped there so long. That is when they found Sexton’s body.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators were on the scene two days after the incident, but the agency said its report about a specific cause might take a few weeks, and a full report might take a year. The focus of the investigation is on conduits and support systems.

The electrical conduit in question is one of a series of pipelike devices that hold wires that make the ventilation fans and lights inside the tunnel functional.

According to Pennsylvania Turnpike Chief Executive Officer Mark P. Compton, the agency, which is responsible for tunnel maintenance, is cooperating fully with the federal agency.

“We are eager to understand exactly what caused this tragedy so we can work to ensure it doesn’t happen again,” Compton said.

Turnpike officials closed the tunnel for part of a day, then reopened it after concluding that it was safe for the traveling public.

This appears to have been the first accident of its kind, but it is also interesting to note that the Lehigh Tunnel is the only one along the turnpike system where the conduit is perched directly above the speeding traffic below. The electrical conduits of the other four tunnels are embedded in a location above the tunnel ceiling, making it virtually impossible for any debris to fall on traffic below if somehow the conduits became dislodged or damaged.

While the older tunnels do not encounter this possible problem, they have had issues with falling tiles and icicles, leading to some injuries and vehicle damage.

The Lehigh Tunnel’s southbound tube, located between the Mahoning Valley and Lehigh Valley interchanges, is the newest on the turnpike system. It was opened in 1991, ending the bottleneck that had existed until then when four lanes merged into two. From the time the first tube opened in 1957 until 1991, there was just one lane of traffic in each direction.

We don’t want to leave the impression that turnpike officials shirk their safety responsibilities, because there is a strict inspection schedule that is observed.

The last major Lehigh Tunnel inspection was in September 2016 and another is scheduled for this September, although given the severity of this incident, the timetable might be moved up.

In addition, there are intermittent visual inspections by turnpike personnel, who also ride through the tunnel during each shift looking for any issues.

As part of its final report, the NTSB will deliver a series of recommendations to the turnpike commission officials. We believe one of them should strive to determine if the electrical conduits can be repositioned above the tunnel ceiling or otherwise secured so that if they do break loose they would be prevented from falling on vehicles.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com