A blinding snow squall led to a fiery pile-up on a Pennsylvania highway Monday morning involving at least 50 vehicles, including several...
A blinding snow squall led to a fiery pile-up on a Pennsylvania highway Monday morning involving at least 50 vehicles, including several tractor-trailers, authorities said.
The chain reaction occurred around 10:36 a.m. on Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County about 50 miles northeast of Harrisburg, Pa., where a squall of early spring wintry weather swamped drivers in the northbound lanes.
About 20 people were taken to hospitals, Schuylkill County Emergency Management Office spokesman John Blickley said Monday. He was not aware of any fatalities and had no information on the severity of the injuries.
“The road conditions when the squall arrived contributed to the crash,” Mr Blickley said.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation referred questions about the crash to Pennsylvania State Police, who wrote the Twitter Monday afternoon that 50 to 60 vehicles were involved in the pileup and a fire was still burning at the scene. He did not immediately provide details, including information on the deaths.
The pile rumbled through traffic for several miles down the highway, making it difficult for rescuers to reach the wreckage, which authorities said stretched for about a mile. the threat of additional snow squalls further complicated these efforts, prompting authorities to close the highway for several hours. The southbound lanes of the freeway reopened Monday afternoon.
A driver involved in the pileup captured the chain reaction on video in this case, and the reduced visibility encountered by motorists. The video, which attracted attention on social media, showed a convoy of tractor-trailers ramming into each other and skidding down the highway.
In the video, the driver of a sedan narrowly avoided being hit by another car after hitting a road sign on the shoulder. One person could be heard shouting “go, go, go” as the man recording the footage urged other drivers to “be careful”.
Some drivers who got out of their cars ran into the woods as more cars and trucks slammed into idling vehicles on the highway.
The man who captured the chaotic footage expressed disbelief as an SUV drove into his Dodge Charger.
“My car is gone,” he shouted.
It was the second time in just over a month that a snow squall was responsible for a major pileup on Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County. On February 19, five people were injured in a pileup involving approximately 50 vehicles near McAdoo, Pa., about 25 miles northeast of where the pileup occurred Monday, according to local media. None of these injuries were life threatening.
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