Snow Squalls Cause 35-Vehicle Pileup On Interstate 93 In NH
ASHLAND, N.H. (CBS) — Sudden snow squalls caused a massive pileup of dozens of cars and trucks on Interstate 93 north near Ashland, New Hampshire Friday morning.
New Hampshire State Police Lt. Jerome Maslan told WBZ-TV 35 vehicles were involved in two separate pileups that began as the snow moved in around 9:45 a.m. between exits 24 and 25.
Twelve people suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
One of the crashes involved a tractor-trailer truck that caught fire after a vehicle slid underneath it.
It wasn't known what the trailer was carrying. Several boxes were unloaded after the crash.
I-93 reopened for traffic at about 1:10 p.m.
Denise Morrisson was driving in the area and saw the flames from the tractor-trailer. Just as Morrisson began to slow down, her car was hit from behind.
"There were cars into the ledges on one side, into the guardrail on the other," Morrisson said. "And in the rear view mirror before the whiteout happened there were cars all behind us in accidents. Everywhere we were we saw accidents."
The Department of Transportation is treating the road surfaces to open up at least one lane of traffic.
WBZ-TV photographer Matt Colson said there were whiteout conditions in the area at the time of the pileups and that the icy road was as slick as glass.
Maslan said police were also concerned about secondary accidents at the time of the incident.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Bernice Corpuz reports
MORE LOCAL NEWS FROM CBS BOSTON