A 50-vehicle crash occurred in Ohio due to white-out conditions and ice, closing a highway for several hours.
Icy roads caused nearly 50 vehicles to crash on I-75 in Middletown, Ohio at around 11:30a.m on Monday. The crash occurred near exit 122, causing the road to shut down for several hours.
"It was complete ice all over the highway," Luke Stevens, who was at the front of the pileup with three other passengers told the Dayton Daily News. Stevens watched as other cars came right towards them and hit them.
"Cars were coming straight toward us at 60 miles per hour. ... We ended up getting hit head-on by a truck," Stevens said. "We got hit probably 10 other times by other cars banging into each other. ... We were in a (Buick) Rendezvous. All the airbags deployed."
WPTV reports that at least 18 people were hospitalized for minor injuries, but there were no deaths.
Ohio State Highway Patrol Sergeant James Russell believes snow may have played a part in the crash as it was coming down at the time, causing "white-out condition." He thinks no-visibility caused the first few drivers to lose control and spark the pile-up.
Keith Clasgens took to Facebook to describe what happened and how he nearly became one of the cars involved.
" We've been stopped on I-75S since noon," Keith Clasgens reported on Facebook, according to WPTV. "We are about 150 yards behind the accident. For those criticizing people driving in the snow, this was a freak situation. Conditions went from dry and light flurries, to blizzard-like conditions (very low visibility, slick, etc.) in seconds. I had seconds to adjust and slide. We missed the pile up by 10 seconds."
An investigation is continuing about the crash but I-75 was set to reopen by 3:30p.m.
This wasn't the only large crash in Ohio. Another pileup occurred around the same time on Interstate 275 in the areas of Fairfield and Colerain. About 10 cars were involved in that incident.
