On Sunday, whiteout conditions contributed to numerous crashes, including a 17 car pileup at the 7.2-mile marker and a 13 car pileup at the 6.2-mile marker of eastbound I-80/94.
Indiana State Police report that the road closure at the 7.2-mile marker involved 4 separate crashes with 17 vehicles. Many vehicles were relocated to a truck stop on Burr Street where the crash reports were taken in order to get the roadway open sooner.
The incident at the 6.2 mile marker involved 13 cars that were involved in 7 individual crashes, according to police. Many of the crashes that Troopers responded to could have been avoided if drivers had reduced their following distances as well as their speeds. Police reported that the pileups occurred around 11:40 a.m.
Shortly after 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, troopers had already covered 26 crashes and 6 slide-offs that didn’t require a crash report. They continued to be dispatched to crashes along I-85 into the evening.
As snow continues to fall, local and INDOT plows will be out in full force salting and plowing the roadways. The ISP encourages drivers to be aware of the potential danger of lake effect snow mixing with strong winds to cause white-out conditions.
They warn that these conditions can often result in multi-vehicle crashes when drivers are traveling too fast and when they follow too closely to others on the road. Motorists are encouraged to slow down and keep their distance from other vehicles.
