A Texas man died following a late-night tractor-trailer crash on Interstate 78 in Berks County Friday night, according to the Berks County Coroner’s Office.
Berks County Coroner Matthew Stitzel identified the victim as Donald Gene Hausenfluck, 61, of San Antonio, Texas.
According to Pennsylvania State Police at Hamburg, the crash occurred around 11:51 p.m. on Friday, May 15, 2026, on Interstate 78 westbound at mile marker 25.6 in Upper Bern Township.
Police say Hausenfluck was operating a 2022 Volvo tractor-trailer westbound when, for unknown reasons, the vehicle drifted from the right travel lane onto the shoulder and struck the rear of a parked 2025 Kenworth tractor-trailer.
The impact caused disabling damage to the parked truck’s trailer and power unit. After the collision, the Volvo overturned and struck an embankment before coming to rest facing north. Police said the crash blocked all westbound lanes, including both shoulders.
Hausenfluck was transported to Reading Hospital by Northern Berks EMS with life-threatening injuries and was later pronounced dead at 1:31 a.m. Saturday. The coroner’s office determined the cause of death to be multiple blunt force trauma and ruled the manner of death accidental.
A passenger in the Kenworth, identified by police as Quadarius Cameron, 25, of Riverdale, Georgia, suffered suspected moderate injuries and was also taken to Reading Hospital.
State police noted that a secondary crash involving two passenger vehicles occurred shortly afterward in the area.
Shoemakersville, Hamburg, and Strausstown fire departments assisted at the scene, along with EMS crews, PEMA, and V&M Towing. Interstate 78 westbound between Exit 29 (Hamburg) and Exit 23 (Shartlesville) remained closed for several hours following the crash.
The crash remains under investigation by Pennsylvania State Police at Hamburg.