A very sudden, very intense snow shower wreaked havoc on the highways on Thursday morning, causing numerous accidents and spin-outs, along Interstates 80, 55, and 57, according to Illinois State Police.
Traffic was still crawling at noon on westbound I-80/94, east of Torrence Avenue where a jackknifed semi shut down several lanes.
Illinois State Police are blaming icy conditions for at least 18 separate crashes near the interchange between Interstates 57 and 80, snarling highway traffic in the Southland.
The crashes near where I-57 and I-80 intersect near Homewood started about 10:15 a.m. and at least 18 crashes had been reported as of 11:15 a.m., an ISP District Chicago trooper said.
Two people were hurt on northbound Illinois 394 after a red Ford pickup hit a tree near Glenwood-Dyer Road, the trooper said.
Two people were taken to Saint Margaret Mercy Healthcare Center in Hammond, Ind.
On I-57, a vehicle was reported on fire near Sibley Boulevard and other vehicles in nearby crashes are undrivable on both northbound and southbound lanes, the trooper said.
Farther south, southbound lanes of I-57 were temorarily closed near Peotone because of multiple crashes in both directions.
State Police District 5 out of Joliet reported at least 30 incidents, including cars in ditches, along highways in western Will County.
Illinois Department of Transportation spokesman Guy Tridgell said they started getting reports of crashes at 9:15 a.m. and mobilized trucks “right away.”
Salt trucks will continue working throughout the day, making sure the ramps, interstates and primary roads are cleared, he said.
“The storm arrived so suddenly and was so intense that drivers did not have time to react,” Tridgell said.
It left less than an inch of snow.
Provided By: Herald News
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