Major pileup shuts down I-80 in Iowa

Near-blizzard conditions were reported across Iowa on Thursday, severely limiting visibility and causing treacherous travel, including on one of the state’s biggest highways, Interstate 80.

At around 11:45 a.m. Thursday morning, a collection of several multi-vehicle crashes became the scene of a large-scale crash in a matter of seconds, according to a statement from the Iowa State Patrol.

Iowa DOT reported the crash around 12:28 p.m. CST Thursday around mile marker 163, which is located just east of Des Moines, Iowa.

The pileup happened very close to a traffic camera operated by the Iowa DOT, which showed the wreckage. Tractor-trailers could be seen in the photo spilling off the highway and cars were crunched amid the snowy scene.

According to a post on Twitter made by the Iowa State Patrol, there were "a few serious injuries and several minor injuries" and officers were going car to car to check on motorists. Earlier in the day, the Iowa State Patrol had called the storm "deadly" and had declared "travel not advised conditions" for several of the roadways across the state.

As of Thursday afternoon, details were still trickling in, but the Iowa State Patrol confirmed that both troopers involved in the crash were uninjured.

The pileup, which the Iowa State Patrol said included at least 40 vehicles, shut down traffic.

“Eastbound I-80 west of Newton will likely be closed for an extended period of time as first responders work to untangle this multi-vehicle crash,” the Iowa DOT tweeted. “Please avoid this area.”

A storm tracking across the region spread 2 to 5 inches of snow across much of the region, but one of the bigger factors was strong winds that caused the snow to blow and drift.

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Roads were "completely covered" with snow around the time of the accident, according to the Iowa DOT, and travel was not advised.

It is unclear if weather was a factor in the cause of the crash.

The Iowa Department of Transportation tweeted a photo showing a different collision along I-80 in western Iowa at 8:30 a.m. local time. "We're anticipating other incidents like this today as high profile vehicles will experience very difficult travel during the blizzard," the tweet warned, adding that, "If you are involved in a crash- stay in your vehicle until help arrives. But if you don't need to travel, please stay safely inside."

On Friday, Debra Clung of the Iowa Department of Safety told AccuWeather that state police were “still investigating and tallying personal injuries” and that it “could take a few days” until that work is completed. All told, Clung said, the Iowa State Patrol responded to 195 crashes throughout the state on Feb. 4 and Feb. 5.

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