Hours before dawn Wednesday, Anthony Lizza turned to his girlfriend before getting out of bed.
A friend called and needed his help. He needed a ride home from the Woodlands.
Mr. Lizza, 58, left his Old Forge home, got into his 2002 Ford minivan and headed to pick up his friend, Jeffrey Godeck, 52, of Moosic.
On the way back, just before the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport exit on I-81 north, the minivan stopped in the middle of the highway.
Moments later, the two men were killed after a tractor-trailer driven by Charles Brown, 62, of Sugarloaf, struck the back of the minivan. There was no information on Mr. Brown's condition Wednesday night. A driver for D.B. Whitebread & Son Trucking Inc. of Sugarloaf, he was wearing a seat belt, state police at Wyoming said.
The impact sent both vehicles into the grass median between the northbound and southbound lanes. A steering wheel and other automobile parts, as well as personal items, littered the grass area. Traffic was backed up for miles as that portion of the highway was closed for more than six hours. Both lanes reopened around 10 a.m.
Police are still investigating the crash and would not comment further. Keith Whitebread, president of the trucking company, also declined to comment.
Friends and family of Mr. Lizza were not surprised to learn he rushed out to help a friend.
"That's the type of person he was," said his cousin, Ralph Lizza, of Port St. Lucie, Fla. "He was more like a brother to me than a cousin. We grew up together (in Old Forge)."
Old Forge mayor and childhood neighbor and friend Michele Avvisato said the borough "lost a good person."
"Great family guy, great parent, great brother," she said. "I can't say one bad thing about him."
Mr. Godeck's mother was so grief-stricken she had a hard time talking about her son. She did say he was a loving father to his 24-year-old son, Robert Kobilinski, and a huge fan of baseball and rock 'n' roll. He was planning to see one of his favorite bands, the Eagles, perform tonight in Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, N.Y.
"He was my son," she said softly.
