At least three people were killed in an enormous pileup crash involving more than 50 cars on a stretch of Interstate 81 (I-81) northbound in Pennsylvania on Monday as snow squalls caused whiteout conditions, according to reports.
Warning: the below video contains adult language.
A shocking video of the crash, shared on YouTube by motorist Mike Moye, shows numerous semi-trucks and passenger vehicles crashing into the pileup as people scream in the background.
“It’s snow and fog mixed together, and it made the visibility down to zero,” Moye said in the footage. Accuweather reported whiteout conditions.
A Schuylkill County coroner said there were three deaths as of 4:40 p.m., WBRE/WYOU reported. The crash occurred around 10:45 a.m. near mile marker 116, WOFL noted.
UPDATE: People reported trapped inside cars in this 50+ vehicle pileup during snow squall in #Schuylkill Co. Injuries reported. Fires burning — one large fire appears to involve trucks. @69News pic.twitter.com/EC8wr0EGR7
— Rob Vaughn (@RobVaughnNews) March 28, 2022
Police said over two dozen additional victims were conveyed to hospitals via ambulance or helicopter as a result of the crash, according to WBRE/WYOU. Uninjured motorists and passengers were brought to a Wegman’s distribution facility in Pottsville.
Pennsylvania State Police noted that a tanker truck was ablaze, according to WOFL.
“I couldn’t see anything I was just hearing banging around me,” Lily Weaver of Hershey told the outlet. “Then I heard a really loud boom that’s when black smoke came up from the tanker truck that blew up, that’s when I knew it was really bad.”
Major pileup after lake effect snow created whiteout on I-81 in Schuylkill County, PA… video credit: Sam Beagle. Many folks are in a snow squall warning today — take those seriously and avoid driving if you can — they move through quickly. See you on @ABCWorldNews with the COLD pic.twitter.com/nIs5L7Olow
— Ginger Zee (@Ginger_Zee) March 28, 2022
AccuWeather reported:
Those who had to escape their vehicles from the pileup were met with very 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.
As of 3:08 p.m., 511PA said all lanes between Exit 107 (U.S. 209 – Tremont/Tower City) and Exit 119 (Highridge Park Road) were closed.
State police are investigating the deadly wreck.
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