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70+ Vehicles Involved in Central Pa. Crash That Injured 10, Closed Highway for Hours

What to Know

  • State police said 10 people were injured in a crash involving 73 vehicles on a central Pennsylvania highway during a late winter storm over the weekend, but no life-threatening injuries were reported.
  • Trooper Megan Ammerman said the crash was reported shortly after 2 p.m. Saturday on PA 581 in Cumberland County.
  • On-scene investigators determined that about 43 of the 73 vehicle were damaged, police said.

More than 70 vehicles were involved in a huge crash on eastbound Interstate 581 outside Camp Hill Saturday afternoon, state police said.

The crash happened on I-581 in Cumberland County just after 2 p.m., as snow and high winds made driving difficult throughout Pennsylvania. Ten people were hurt, state police said.

The highway was closed for four hours.

Waze live traffic maps showed a large backup around the crash location. One person reported they had been stuck in the jam for 45 minutes, "with likely hours to go."

Buses were sent to the scene to pick up people without serious injuries who were involved in the crash, Trooper Megan Ammerman tweeted. The people were taken to the New Cumberland Borough Fire Department, which had opened a warming and reunification location.

WHTM-TV reported drivers and other witnesses reported whiteout conditions prior to the crash.

“We went under the underpass and suddenly there was a whiteout,” Jason Rosnick told the station. “I hit the brakes and suddenly I had zero traction. I got tapped from behind and hit somebody in front of me and hit the barrier, and for the next five minutes or so there was just more and more collisions.”

Snow blanketed much of Pennsylvania Saturday, with temperatures falling so fast that the NBC10 First Alert Weather Team warned of a "flash freeze."

"Weather conditions in that area ranged from lower to middle 20s, so well below freezing," said First Alert Meteorologist Steve Sosna. "When the snow was coming down it was moderate in intensity -- that's snow coming down at a good clip."

Winds were gusting to 30 to 40 mph, which reduces visibility to a half-mile, Sosna said. "And even locally, less," he added.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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