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State Police Seeking Help in I-81 Death Investigation

SCRANTON, Pa. — State police in Lackawanna County are asking for the public’s help in a bizarre case. They say a woman was found with severe injurie...

SCRANTON, Pa. -- State police in Lackawanna County are asking for the public's help in a bizarre case. They say a woman was found with severe injuries on the shoulder of Interstate 81 last month.

The woman later died, and troopers are trying to figure out how she was hurt and how she wound up on the highway.

The woman was from New York City but has ties to Pike County. She was found off of the southbound lanes near the Davis Street exit on Interstate 81.

A witness told state police about an SUV that was likely involved, and troopers are hoping the public might have information on that vehicle.

On June 23 around 2:30 a.m., police found a woman badly hurt on the shoulder of Interstate 81 south in Scranton. The woman later died from her injuries.

There's still a lot of unanswered questions surrounding Rachel Teplitsky's death. The 26 year old is from Brooklyn, New York but has ties to Pike County.

The best information state police have is from another driver who was getting off I-81 at the Davis Street exit following behind a dark-colored SUV.

"He noticed a vehicle in front, kind of going a little slow. Then he noticed a body tumbling on the highway, and that's when he got a better image of the dark-colored SUV, possibly black," said Trooper Bob Urban.

Trooper Urban says it's still unclear whether Teplitsky came out of the SUV. Troopers believe it's possible she may have been hit but, they're hoping someone else might remember the SUV that was on the highway that morning. Troopers say it was a midsized vehicle with multiple people inside.

"Right now, we're just hoping somebody in that time frame, from say, quarter after 2:00 till 2:30 or after in the morning, just happened to go by and maybe this will jog their memory, saying, 'Hey, I saw that,' and they'll be able to report to us at the Dunmore state police barracks so we can investigate further," said Trooper Urban.

The witness told troopers that he saw other people on the highway that night back in June. They're hoping one of those drivers sees this and might have information that could help troopers understand Rachel Teplitsky's death.

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