The death toll in the Monday deadly pileup on a snowy Pennsylvania highway has risen to six people.
The state police said Wednesday that a deadly pileup involving 80 vehicles on a Pennsylvania interstate during a snow squall killed six people. The identities of the deceased were still being withheld until all the family notifications could be made.
State police in Frackville said: “There were 6 fatalities involved in this crash. Identities of the victims will be released once death notifications have been made to their families.”
The wreck in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania involved a total of 80 vehicles, including 39 commercial vehicles and 41 passenger vehicles. for a total of 80, which is greater than earlier estimates of 40 to 60 vehicles.
The crash occurred around 10:30 am Monday as an intense, short-lived burst of heavy snowfall accompanied by a gusty wind, blinded drivers and led to a fiery crash on Interstate 81 North near Minersville exit in Foster Township, about 100 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
A video was also taken by a witness at the scene that shows multiple vehicles crashing into each other amid heavy snowfall, with some drivers attempting to pull off the highway for safety.
According to a representative for the Schuylkill County Office of Emergency Management, three tractor-trailers caught fire, and state police said there was a “large fire” involving several vehicles.
David Beohm, from Pennsylvania State Police, tweeted that the stretch of 1-81 opened at 12:30 am Wednesday after crews finished clearing the crash site. The southbound side had reopened hours after Monday’s multi-vehicle wreck.
Portions of the interstate north in Schuylkill County were closed for 40 hours and highway message boards were redirecting traffic. Once all cars were cleared, debris was cleared away and construction work was done to the road before it was reopened.
A state incident report noted 24 people were taken to four hospitals after the crash, which was captured in videos posted on social media that showed drivers and passengers lining the snowy road and jumping out of the way as the cascade of crashes unfolded.
Other people with less serious injuries were taken by bus to a reunification center. Police had initially said a lower number of people had died but had been unable to access all the burning vehicles until later Monday.
John Blickley of the county’s emergency management office said: “This is probably the most significant crash we’ve had on the interstate in years.”
Snowy conditions and fires initially made it difficult for emergency services to access the scene. The road was already covered with snow prior to the squall and the pileup, making driving conditions even worse.
In one video, an out-of-control tractor-trailer smashed into a large dump truck turning it nearly 180 degrees, another large truck caught fire and spewed black smoke into the air.
While an SUV struck a passenger car sending it spinning narrowly past a person standing on the shoulder in snow and fog. Some vehicles were mostly burned and others melted onto the highway.
The video also shows some of the drivers frantically fleeing their crumpled rides. One motorist involved in the wreck, Mike Moye, said he pulled his Dodge Charger off the highway once the snow and a thick fog rolled in.
Moye, who was not hurt, told CNN: “I thought I was going to be OK. I thought the cars in the back would know to slow down but no one slowed down. They just kept piling up.”
Trooper Beohm said of how the pileup got started: “With any snow squall, you have lowered visibility, and then you have one or two vehicles crash on the roadway, and all it takes is one or two to clog up the roadway. And then the vehicles coming into the squall can’t stop or get out of the way and they all hit each other.”
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