 The turnpike became known as a death-trap, mainly because in-state drivers who were accustomed to lower traffic volumes could not handle the increased traffic that came with the new connection and increased auto and truck accidents resulting in fatalities.By 1975 the death toll for the 21-year-old highway was at 278 and in 1979, 28 fatalities occurred on the turnpike.Popular T-shirts proclaimed, "I survived the West Virginia Turnpike."