PITTSBURGH SUBURB Wood-chipper hits van, killing dad, 2 kids

The equipment weighed an estimated 5,000 pounds.
GIBSONIA, Pa. (AP) -- A wood-chipper being hauled by a dump truck broke free and bounced across a highway, striking a minivan and killing a father and two of his young triplets, police said.
The dump truck was traveling north when the wood-chipper broke free at about 5 p.m. Thursday and crossed the center line of Route 8, a busy highway that snakes through Pittsburgh's northern suburbs. The minivan, which was traveling south, was carrying Spencer Morrison, 37, and his 4-year-old triplets, police said.
All three children were in safety seats, but one child, Ethan Morrison, was thrown from the vehicle in the violent impact, which tore a door from the van, police said.
Ethan was flown to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, where he was in critical condition Friday afternoon. His siblings, Garret and Alaina, were killed.
Police were investigating how the chipper, which they estimate weighed about 5,000 pounds, was secured and how it came free.
Investigators were at the crash site, about 15 miles north of downtown Pittsburgh, examining gouges in the road Friday afternoon. Small plastic debris lay scattered along the shoulder.
The road was very smooth, Northern Regional Police Chief Bob Amman said Friday.
A decision on whether to file charges would come after the investigation and a discussion with the district attorney's office, Amman said.
The Morrisons lived in Cranberry Township, Butler County, officials said. No one answered the door at their house Friday. A spokesman for Children's Hospital said the family did not wish to speak.