Snow leads to massive pileup in Wisconsin; dozens injured
Individuals carry their belongings as they walk away as emergency crews respond to a multi-vehicle accident in both the north and south lanes of Interstate 39/90 just north of the East Creek Road overpass on Friday, Jan. 27, 2023, in Turtle, Wis. Authorities say snowy conditions led to the massive traffic pile-up in southern Wisconsin on Friday that left Interstate 39/90 blocked for hours. (Anthony Wahl/The Janesville Gazette via AP)
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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Dozens of people were injured in a massive traffic pileup amid snowy conditions in southern Wisconsin on Friday, which blocked Interstate 39/90 for hours, authorities said.
Beloit Memorial Hospital said at least 27 people were treated for injuries sustained in the crash, WIFR-TV reported. The extent of their injuries was not immediately clear, the station said.
State Patrol officials said snow, ice and whiteout conditions were factors in the crash.
Most of southern Wisconsin remained under a winter weather advisory Friday afternoon with more snow expected Saturday.
The crash occurred at around 12:30 p.m. in Rock County between Janesville and Beloit, the State Patrol said in a statement posted on its Facebook page. Troopers arrived to find the interstate blocked in both directions.
Troopers diverted traffic onto side roads. The southbound lanes reopened just after 8 p.m., the State Patrol said on Twitter late Friday.
WIFR-TV posted live video of the scene just before 4 p.m. showing semitrailers backed up as emergency workers assisted motorists.
As of 6 a.m. Friday, the Beloit area had seen 2.2 inches of snow over the last 24 hours, according to the National Weather Service.
The State Patrol said in a separate statement that another multi-vehicle crash around 1:30 p.m. Friday blocked northbound Interstate 41 in Kenosha County near the Wisconsin-Illinois border. Those lanes reopened by 7:35 p.m. Snow, ice and whiteout conditions factored into that crash as well, according to the State Patrol.