This was just one of 73 crashes reported to Ohio State Police in the region
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Ohio State Highway Patrol responded to 73 different crashes due to a lake-effect snow event on Tuesday. One accident in particular involved 13 different vehicles including three big rigs. An officer responding to a sidelined vehicle caught much of that big wreck on his dashcam.
Northeast Ohio and Northwest Pennsylvania just received quite a bit of snow and the roads are absolutely worse for it. According to the National Weather Service, many municipalities had over 10 inches of the white stuff and some had in excess of a foot. The 13-car pile-up at the heart of this story happened on I-271 near Wheatley Rd.
Dashcam footage from a patrol vehicle captured it as the officer rolled up to a stopped vehicle on the left side of the highway. Moments after he comes to a stop a big rig begins to jackknife and other cars following too closely begin to slide as well. Despite having the wrecked tractor-trailer in view, many motorists appear to have no way to stop in time.
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Despite that total of 13 involved vehicles, including three commercial trucks, nobody sustained life-threatening injuries. Not far off on the same highway, another 10-car pile-up occurred. Somehow, nobody was injured in that collection of damaged metal either. Local news agency WKYC says that officers responded to 73 crashes and urged citizens to slow down and take their time moving about the area. Drivers in conditions like these do well to maintain an emergency kit in the car too.
This is also a great reminder that sometimes, conditions are just too bad to risk it. Even the best drivers who know how to avoid accidents like this could end up stopped behind crashed traffic with poor drivers approaching from the rear at the same time. Getting out of a stopped vehicle in hopes of avoiding sliding cars from behind can also be dangerous. Be safe out there no matter where and what you drive but especially more so when the weather turns bad.
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