This past Sunday, a woman from New York died during a pile-up started by a tractor trailer on Interstate 81 in Franklin County, PA. The 77-year-old woman from Wellsville, NY was a passenger in the Chrysler Town and Country that her husband was piloting when the accident happened. It was one of four accidents that took place in a chain reaction just near Greencastle. The woman's husband was injured and suffered serious injuries; his condition remains unknown. State Police are blaming a sudden snow squall on the accident that happened just before 10 a.m. on Sunday morning, but have not yet ruled out other factors as well.
The accident initially closed all lanes of I-81 from exits 3 to 10–Antrim Township to Marion, PA–until noon, but the shutdown was eventually held to just the northbound lanes, which didn't open until around 3:30 p.m.
Police on the scene said that they believe a commercial tractor trailer began skidding and jackknifed, blocking both of the northward lanes of the highway. A second tractor trailer driver hit the brakes hard when the accident unfolded in front of him, at which time a car ran into the back of the second truck and tumbled over the median.
Seconds later, the woman who perished and her husband hit the back of the second tractor trailer, and although that crash seemed to be minor, police say, a Dodge Durango then rear ended the Town and Country. It is believed that the impact of the Durango is what ultimately killed the woman. The chain reaction caused vehicles to swerve and maneuver in all directions to avoid hitting one another.
One swerving vehicle, a Ford Explorer, lost control and crossed the median, running into a Honda Accord that had already spun out and was stuck. The Explorer struck the Accord and then continued into the southbound lanes, smashing into the guardrail. In addition, two more northbound commercial tractor trailers' sides collided momentarily and then braked hard into a Toyota Yaris.
The snow squall came suddenly and extremely diminished visibility in a matter of minutes. Although ice is not yet said to be a factor in the crash, police aren't ruling it out entirely, citing temperatures in the upper 20s and low 30s, which could have allowed some precipitation to settle on the ground, only to be frozen quickly by the swift gusts of wind. One policeman on the scene said that the light dusting of snow was indeed sticking to the ground.
The Franklin County Emergency Service reiterated that a driver's only real chance of avoiding a collision in situations such as this is to slow their vehicle. However, sharing the road with commercial tractor trailers in windy, snowy conditions can make even travelling at the slowest speeds extremely dangerous. It is still unknown what exactly caused the initial truck to jackknife, but it is not likely that a brief gust of snow alone would cause such a reaction. Police are continuing to investigate all possibilities.
Source: Herald-Mail Media, "Snow squall blamed for I-81 crashes that claim one life in Franklin Co." 26 November 2013