03-08-2025
People in a frenzy over car crash - look closer and you'll see why they say it's the 'wurst' accident ever
What started as a routine morning commute ended in chaos - and a lot of sausages - when a tractor-trailer crash in southern Pennsylvania sent thousands of frozen hot dogs tumbling across Interstate 83.
The crash, which occurred around 9:13 a.m. on Friday just south of Exit 8 in Shrewsbury Township, involved at least one tractor-trailer and a passenger vehicle, according to the Shrewsbury Volunteer Fire Company.
Four people were injured and transported to York Hospital. Their conditions were not immediately known, however their injuries are non-life threatening, according to state police.
The truck, reportedly hauling more than 1,000 pounds of frozen hot dogs, split open when it scraped along a concrete barrier, spilling its meaty contents across both directions of the highway.
'We heard a loud bang, and then we heard about three more loud bangs,' a nearby business owner told WGAL.
'We knew it was a tire first, blowout here on 83. But then after that, we knew there was some other type of accident because it went on for a minute or two.'
The crash scene quickly became a traffic nightmare - and a spectacle.
The truck, reportedly hauling more than 1,000 pounds of frozen hot dogs, split open when it scraped along a concrete barrier (pictured), spilling its meaty contents across both directions of the highway
A viewer video shared with WGAL showed vehicles carefully navigating around and over smashed hot dogs as cleanup crews tried to clear the mess.
'We just got a whole truckload of hot dogs,' one person can be heard saying in the clip.
State police said the tractor-trailer suffered a mechanical failure before slamming into a passenger car and the concrete median. The impact tore open the trailer, unleashing its porky payload.
'Once those leave the truck and hit the road, that's all garbage, and it's still pretty warm,' Shrewsbury Fire Company Chief Brad Dauberman told NBC News.
'I can tell you personally, hot dogs are very slippery - I did not know that.'
Cleanup crews, armed with front-end loaders and dump trucks, worked for hours to clear the road.
Twelve barriers were also damaged in the crash and are being assessed by PennDOT, WGAL reported.
Photos shared by the fire company showed responders in high-visibility gear walking past scattered hot dogs, broken boxes, and a mangled trailer.
As one witness put it: 'This wasn't just a traffic jam — it was a meat meltdown.'
Social media users have since chimed in on the meat-ridden crash, cracking jokes and shedding humor on the otherwise grim afternoon.
'And the driver asked the trooper whose fault it was. The Trooper said: 'I'm going to be frank with you,' one user wrote on Facebook.
'Driver was just trying to ketchup,' another quipped.
'Looks like I-83 got a good weinering….' another joked.
Another wrote, 'Dog on it, there goes my cookout!'
While another chimed in: 'Authorities say dozens of wieners went rogue, and the buns couldn't ketch-up. It was the wurst.'
Another suggested a clever way to straighten out the mess. 'Bring in the dogs from the local shelter, cleanup complete in 30 minutes. You're welcome.'
Following the collision, a section of I-83 was shut down in both directions in the areas surrounding the accident. One northbound and one southbound lane later reopened, but traffic remained severely backed up into the afternoon.
'This was definitely one of the more unique scenes we've responded to,' Dauberman said. He added that his daughter texted him a photo of a hot dog-themed T-shirt as the incident unfolded.
