Posted on 02/11/2008 7:31:52 AM PST by Born Conservative
HAZLETON -- Snow squalls and whiteout conditions in the Hazleton area brought Interstate 81 traffic to a halt for more than four hours Sunday when dozens of vehicles were involved in a massive chain-reaction crash that left one Maryland woman dead.
Rescue crews work to clean up the massive crash on Interstate 81 northbound near Route 424 Sunday afternoon. A woman from Maryland died in the accident, which left that section of interstate closed for four hours.
The crash, which police said involved “multi-multi” vehicles, occurred at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday in the northbound lanes near the Arthur Gardner Highway and Route 424 exits, and involved at least 50 vehicles, including some tractor-trailers.
Authorities said 19 people were taken to Hazleton General Hospital. Two were hospitalized, one was still being treated at press time and the rest were treated and released, Hazle Township Fire & Rescue Co. Chief Scott Kostician said.
Kostician said his department counted 68 vehicles involved in the pileup.
Luzerne County Coroner John Corcoran said Teresa S. Colin Berrocal, 24, of Bowie, Md., died as a result of the accident after her 2003 Mitsubishi slammed into a tractor-trailer that was involved in an accident a few minutes earlier. Corcoran said no charges will be filed.
“The accidents were just awful,” Corcoran said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Other motorists waiting in traffic after the pileup echoed Corcoran, saying it was the worst accident they’ve ever seen.
Police said accident victims were being transported from the scene by the American Red Cross to a shelter for food and warmth. Other emergency workers were bringing gasoline to the dozens of motorists struck in traffic.
Traffic was rerouted to routes 309, 93 and 924 during the closure of the interstate, causing traffic tie-ups in other areas in and around Hazleton.
“There (were) more people working and more tow trucks than I’ve ever seen,” said state police Sgt. Robert Castner of the Hazleton barracks. “It’s a lot of work.”
Castner said crews were working diligently for more than four hours to clear the interstate. The northbound lanes were reopened by 8 p.m. Southbound lanes opened about two hours earlier.
Initial reports about the crash said a tanker carrying hydrogen peroxide overturned on the interstate, but John Ankenbrand, acting deputy coordinator for Luzerne County Emergency Management, said the tanker did not breach or leak.
“Thankfully, the tanker was secured,” Ankenbrand said.
According to the National Weather Service at Binghamton, N.Y., warnings for snow squalls and whiteouts ended Sunday night, but a wind chill advisory will be in effect until 10 a.m. today. Temperatures are expected to fall between zero and 5 degrees by this morning. Strong winds of 15 to 25 mph are also expected.
Dozens of emergency crews from Luzerne and Schuylkill counties, as well as the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the American Red Cross and the Hazleton Police Department assisted state police at the scene.
The conditions of those taken to the hospital after the crash were not known at press time.
We had a very sudden squall here in eastern upstate NY yesterday afternoon. It was snowing horizontally. Total whiteout and very scary.
Prayers up for all involved in this accident.
We were in Bethlehem when that squall hit, and it was like an instant blizzard with the wind blowing the snow all over. It didn’t last that long, and when it was over, the sun came out.
I've had truckers tell me that I-81 from central Pennsylvania up to the Canadian border in upstate New York is one of the worst highways they've ever driven on -- mainly because of weather-related issues like this one.
What State?
Pennsylvania, not far from the junction of I-80 and I-81.
This occurred in Pennsylvania. Hazleton is right at the junction of I-80 and I-81 — on the eastern side of the Allegheny Mountains
Hazelton? Colorado? Mississippi? California?
I know that stretch well. There has been many incidents there on the way back and forth from my sons college (Bloomsburg). Last time there was a big rig that slid off the road and flipped. That was an all day event. I think it is because it is a rather open area inside many hilly mountainous regions. The wind really seems to whip through there.
The Hazleton area is at a high elevation, and has weather conditions unique unto itself. I live 20 miles west of Hazleton, and there are times that they will get snow and we won’t have any. It also gets very foggy there.
It seems as though I-81 was plopped on mountains, to avoid going through the valleys. That’s why it’s probably so bad....
I know the area. I am very sorry.
Have to agree, we drive from WV to MA 2-3 times a year and that stretch from Harrisburg to Scranton is miserable far more often than not.
The ice build-up on the roads in Pa. was in inches and everything was closed, even the shopping malls. They had rolling blackouts in Pa. because of the extremely cold weather. The closest place to get a bite was across the street from the Super 8 motel I was staying in. It's now a WaWa Gas station. And because of the power blackouts, you couldn't get any hot food, so I had to settle for a sandwich.
My old VW Jetta wouldn't start because of the cold, and when I called AAA about getting a jump, they asked me where I thought I'd be going since Route 81 was closed due to the ice storm and jack-knifed tractor trailers. At the time I had a cast on my left wrist, having broken it after slipping and falling on black ice back home in central NY State. I had an appointment to get the cast off that Friday. Fortunately, the roads eventually opened, and I was able to get out in time to get back home and get the cast off.
It wasn't one of my better trips. For a woman with money in her pocket, to be stuck in a city where the shopping malls are closed is a nightmare. I actually ended up having to replace the tires on my car because they were worn down from having to drive for so many miles over the rutted and rippled ice through Pa.
I sat in the resulting traffic for nearly 2 hours yesterday afternoon / evening. Sorry that any fatalities occurred, but thank God it was only one given the magnitude of the pile up.
“It’s one of the worst roads to drive on since they don’t use salt to keep the roads clear.”
That statement is not accurate. Sitting in traffic near a Penn Dot station, I watched as trucks came and loaded with salt for some time yesterday.
PennDOT used to use salt; they now use a liquid (magnesium?) and I think they also continue to use salt as well. Last year, they had a situation similar to yours, and a lot of people raised a lot of hell after being stranded during a storm. Fast Eddy Rendell lit a fire under PennDOT, and there are now a multitude of plows on the interstates whenever there is a HINT of snow or ice....
Well, then they’ve changed their practice since the last time I drove through Pa. in a storm (it’s been years). Used to be they didn’t use any of that stuff on their roads.
ping
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