PennDOT Closes Icy Highway After Pileup

A chain-reaction crash involving roughly 50 vehicles on an icy roadway will leave the westbound lanes of Interstate 80 in western Pennsylvania closed until about 10 p.m.

Marla Fannin, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, revised the estimate after previously saying officials hoped to reopen the lanes earlier.

The pileup near the Clearfield exit Wednesday morning involved several tractor-trailers and one gasoline tanker. Officials at Clearfield Hospital say they are treating 14 accident victims, all of whom had minor to moderate injuries.

Rain falling on frozen ground caused the icy conditions.

The closed lanes are in a 13-mile stretch between the Clearfield and Phillipsburg exits.

Ice also closed I-80 lanes between Loganton and Lock Haven, about 50 miles east of the crash. They reopened about 11 a.m.

The icy road conditions also caused authorities in Chester County to warn motorists to avoid driving if possible on roads in the county. Route 82 around Coatesville, Pa. was closed due to icy conditions.

There were reports of some accidents in the county due to slippery conditions.

The mess on state roads follow last week's pileup on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in the Philadelphia region when about 100 cars and trucks collided in multiple accidents along the icy roadway.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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