At least 5 killed in fiery pileup on Pa. interstate during snow squall
At least five people were killed and many more injured in a 50- to 60-vehicle pileup on an Eastern Pennsylvania highway when snow squalls moved into the area Monday morning, creating white-out conditions.
About 20 motorists were transported to local hospitals for injuries, Schuylkill County authorities told PennLive. The extent of their injuries had not been released as of Monday evening.
Dramatic video recorded by a person who was on the scene after being involved in the pileup showed a truck that was on fire surrounded by other vehicles that were crushed during the crash. One vehicle after another, including several tractor trailers, can be seen crashing into the one in front of it.
People who had fled their vehicles could be seen on the side of the road and could be heard in Moye’s video screaming in horror as vehicles continued to plow into one another.
“It’s snow and fog mixed together,” Moye said in the video. “And it brought the visibility down to zero.”
Other drivers involved in the accident described the treacherous driving conditions that preceded the crash.
“Couldn’t even see three feet in front of me,” one driver, Lillie Weaver, told WNEP-TV. “Then I knew I was getting close to an exit, so I went over into the right lane and by then my car had slid completely over into the bank and there was no visibility. I could only hear cars around me hitting each other.”
Another driver, Bob Kenney, said all of a sudden it was mayhem: “It was just noise — car hitting car, truck, explosion. Something blew up back there with that big fire. It was just terrible, unbelievable.”
“All of a sudden, all I saw was a wall of trucks sideways,” Candy Gerken told WNEP.
Those who escaped their vehicles from the pileup were met with blustery cold conditions, with AccuWeather RealFeel® temperatures of 14 degrees F at Fort Indiantown Gap — the closest reporting station to the crash site, near the time the incident occurred. AccuWeather RealFeel® temperatures continued to plummet as the day went on, getting as cold as 5 degrees F at 2:30 p.m. local time.
Hours after the pileup, rescue crews were still battling flames and working to free motorists and passengers who were trapped in vehicles, according to Snook News. Police had not yet said what caused the crash, but at the time that the pileup occurred, heavy snow was falling that was significantly reducing visibility and coating the highway with snow.
Snow showers first appeared in parts of Pennsylvania on early Monday morning, with some snow squall bands forming not long after that. At around 9 a.m., snow squalls were reported in the Akron, Ohio, area and those moved into the eastern part of the state as well as western and central Pennsylvania.
At around 10:20 a.m., shortly before the I-81 crash, multiple accidents were reported on Route 61 in Shamokin Township, about 15 miles west of I-81. The crash caused power lines to go down across the road and shut down the route in both directions, according to Northumberland County Fire Wire. Spotty icy conditions were reported in the area at the time of the crash.
Less than a half-hour later, snow squall conditions could be seen on Interstate 88 at exit 119 in Butler Township, Pennsylvania, via PennDot traffic cameras. Roads were quickly covered in snow while white-out conditions took over the area, prompting dangerous driving conditions.
As conditions continued to worsen, motorists about 3 miles south quickly saw things turn from bad to worse. Multiple cars and semi-trucks began to slide off the interstate at exit 116 amid whiteout conditions caused by the snow squall, causing several collisions.
Snow squall warnings began to be issued throughout Pennsylvania shortly after the incident occurred. By 12:30 p.m. EDT, most of central Pennsylvania was under a snow squall warning due to the heavy snow moving across the state.
Less than an hour after the I-81 crash was reported, much of the snow had melted due to the strong late-March sun. Vehicles were backed up for miles in the northbound lane due to the closure of the interstate
