Hazle Township, PA – Viquer Minyety-Rossis, 29, Killed in I-81 Motorcycle vs. Tractor-Trailer Crash

Hazle Township, PA (Oct. 25, 2026) – The Luzerne County Coroner’s Office says a 29-year-old Hazleton man, identified as Viquer Minyety-Rossis, died after a motorcycle crash on I-81.

The coroner’s office was called to the crash on the afternoon of October 25 near mile marker 144 in Hazle Township. According to the coroner’s office, Minyety-Rossis was traveling on a motorcycle when, for unknown reasons, it struck a tractor-trailer and was then hit by another vehicle.

Minyety-Rossis was transported to the hospital, where he later died, the coroner’s office said. It is unknown whether anyone else was injured in the crash.

This is a developing story. Details may change as the investigation continues.

What Families Can Do After a Fatal Motorcycle Crash in Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation reported 219 motorcyclist deaths and 3,064 motorcyclist injuries in Pennsylvania in 2024, according to its annual Pennsylvania Crash Facts & Statistics report. Behind each figure is a family handling paperwork while grieving, and these steps can lighten the load.

• Ask the investigating police agency for the crash report number and the name of the officer or unit handling the case.
• Ask that the motorcycle, helmet, and riding gear not be released, repaired, or sent to salvage yet, because they are evidence.
• Send calls from insurance companies to one family member or to an attorney, and do not give a recorded statement.
• Order several certified copies of the death certificate, since banks, insurers, and employers each ask for one.
• Keep a record of funeral and medical expenses, along with the rider’s recent pay stubs.
• Hold off on posting about the crash online, where comments can be pulled into a claim later.

Liability When a Motorcycle Crash Involves a Tractor-Trailer and a Second Vehicle

A crash with more than one vehicle often means more than one insurance policy and more than one party who may answer for what happened. Reports describe a motorcycle striking a tractor-trailer and then being hit by another vehicle, and the cause has not been stated.

Pennsylvania law lets the estate’s personal representative bring a wrongful death claim for the benefit of surviving family, such as a spouse, children, or parents (42 Pa.C.S. § 8301). The estate may also bring a survival claim for the losses the rider suffered before death. Both are separate from any traffic or criminal case.

• Who may be liable: The tractor-trailer driver, the company that operates the truck, and the driver of the second vehicle may each be examined, depending on what investigators find. Nothing in the reports points to a vehicle defect or a road problem.
• What evidence decides it: The truck’s event data recorder, dashcam video, driver logs, inspection and maintenance records, and witness accounts can show speeds, braking, and driver hours. Some of this can be lost quickly without a written preservation request.
• If fault is shared: Pennsylvania follows modified comparative negligence, so a claim is barred if the rider is found more than 50 percent at fault, and any award is reduced by the rider’s share (42 Pa.C.S. § 7102). With the cause unknown, an insurer may try to place blame on the rider, so a family should not accept that account early.
• Deadline: The deadline runs from the date of death. If that date is October 25, 2026, 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524 sets the two-year filing deadline at October 25, 2028.

Why Luzerne County Families Call Scartelli Olszewski After a Fatal Motorcycle Crash

Losing a family member in a crash brings funeral costs, insurance calls, and a missing paycheck all at once. Most families ask the same thing first: who handles all of this, and what will it cost us?

Our attorneys take wrongful death cases on a contingency basis, so a family pays nothing upfront to learn where it stands. A Wilkes-Barre crash injury lawyer at our firm can explain the wrongful death and survival claims in plain terms, deal with the insurers, and prepare the case for trial if an offer falls short. Founder Melissa A. Scartelli is a Board Certified Civil Trial Advocate, and the firm has been serving Northeastern Pennsylvania since 2001.

From the first call, we send preservation requests so trucking and vehicle data are not lost, and we take over the calls that families should not have to field.

Families in the Hazleton area who are choosing a lawyer after losing someone in a motorcycle crash can weigh what Scartelli Olszewski offers:

• $10,000,000 record verdict in Luzerne County
• 100+ years of combined trial experience, with hundreds of jury trials tried
• Led by Melissa A. Scartelli, Board Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy
• Former District Attorney and Court of Common Pleas judge Peter Paul Olszewski, Jr. on the team
• Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum members
• 4.7 Google rating across 39 client reviews, with no disciplinary history for any attorney
• Free consultation and no fee unless we win
• $2,200,000 tractor-trailer accident settlement

Our Wilkes-Barre office at 7 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701 is the closest to Hazle Township. Call (570) 346-2600, visit us in person, or reach us through our contact form.