At least five people were reportedly killed on Monday in a fiery 50-60 car pileup on a Pennsylvania interstate, caused by blowing snow and a dense fog that led to zero visibility on the northern roadway.
Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County was closed down due to the deadly pileup that occurred around 11 a.m. near Foster Township roughly 50 miles from Allentown, New York Daily News reported.
An intense video of the scene was shared on Twitter showing several vehicles slamming into each other, including multiple semis that send snow and debris flying through the air upon impact.
“UNBELIEVABLE video of a pileup in Schuylkill County as snow squalls brought visibility on Interstate 81 down to near zero. Video shot live by Mike Moye (Facebook),” CBS3 Philadelphia’s Joe Holden tweeted along with the video.
“This is ridiculous,” the man filming the wreck says in the video. “It’s snow and fog mixed together and it made the visibility down to zero.”
The man filming then frantically yells “watch out” as another car comes careening down the interstate, narrowly missing an individual standing on the side of the road.
“Sh-t! Damn! My car is gone! I need to get all of my sh-t out of my car, but it’s too dangerous,” the man filming continues as a fire erupts among the vehicles sending plumes of black smoke into the air.
“Sh-ts on fire! I need to get the f-ck off the road. This is crazy,” he continues. “My car! No! Look at that fire. Oh my God.”
According to WFMZ, people were reportedly trapped inside the wreckage.
“UPDATE: People reported trapped inside cars in this 50+ vehicle pileup during snow squall in #Schuylkill Co. Injuries reported. Fires burning — one large fire appears to involve trucks. @69News,” tweeted WFMZ anchor Rob Vaughn.
Another angle of the accident shows mangled cars, trucks, semis, and an RV piled together as a fire rages in the background.
“Major pileup after lake effect snow created whiteout on I-81 in Schuylkill County, PA… video credit: Sam Beagle. Many folks are in a snow squall warning today — take those seriously and avoid driving if you can — they move through quickly. See you on @ABCWorldNews with the COLD,” ABC News Chief Meteorologist Ginger Zee tweeted.
WNEP’s Nikki Krize tweeted another photo of the incident which showed multiple law enforcement vehicles present at the scene.
The Morning Call tweeted “horrific scenes from the pileup caused by a snow squall on Interstate 81.”
