MCCOOLE — A West Virginia woman is facing charges following a head-on crash Monday that left two people critically injured, the Allegany County Sheriff’s Office said.
“The (investigation) is ongoing and charges are pending,” Sgt. Christopher Hill said.
The crash was reported just after 1 p.m. on U.S. Route 220 near the Chat & Chew Restaurant in McCoole
Hill said Helene Jeanette Murphy, 40, of Ridgeley, was the alleged at-fault driver and remained in critical condition at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Brian Arlen Shaffer, 65, of Cumberland, was also in critical condition Tuesday at the Morgantown trauma center, Hill said.
A third driver, Terri Lynn Williams-Pressley, 67, of Keyser, West Virginia, was treated at WVU Medicine Potomac Valley Hospital for minor injuries, according to Hill.
Hill said two vehicles struck head-on, while a third rolled several times.
One victim was trapped in a vehicle and had to be freed by firefighters, Hill said.
Two medical helicopters — Trooper 5, a Maryland State Police Aviation Command helicopter based in Cumberland, and Trooper 3, based in Frederick — transported Murphy and Shaffer to the Morgantown hospital, according to a Joint Communications Center spokesperson.
Units from Rawlings, Westernport and Keyser volunteer fire departments, ambulances from Tri-Towns EMS, Cresaptown, Valley Medical Transport, Allegany County Department of Emergency Services, Mineral County Emergency Services and two county EMS supervisors responded.
The sheriff’s office crash reconstruction and technology teams responded to the scene.
McMullen Highway was closed for approximately two hours for accident reconstruction.