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PHILADELPHIA February 14, 2014 (AP)
By MICHAEL RUBINKAM and RON TODT Associated Press
Two
major pileups and smaller fender-benders involving tractor-trailers and
scores of cars blocked one side of an ice-coated Pennsylvania Turnpike
outside Philadelphia on Friday, injuring at least 30 people and tying up
traffic for hours.
The eastbound crashes were reported just
before 8:30 a.m., in the middle of rush hour and about five hours after a
storm that dropped a foot of snow in the area finally moved out.
Speed
restrictions put in place during the storm had been lifted at 6 a.m.,
but rush-hour motorists said the roadway was very slick, calling into
question whether it had been adequately treated. State police also
suspect sun glare might have played a role.
The accidents created a
five-mile traffic jam between the Bensalem and Willow Grove exits of
the state's primary east-west highway. The jam was cleared by the middle
of the afternoon, and turnpike officials reopened the roadway in both
directions by 4 p.m.
Stuck motorists turned off their engines to
conserve gas. One of them, Chuck Wacker, 53, of Plymouth Meeting,
counted about 30 smashed-up vehicles around him.
"It's a pretty calm atmosphere right now," he said. "People are sharing food and water."
He said cars were spun around, gas tanks were cracked open and glass and plastic littered the road.
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