As arctic air and more snow move into Pennsylvania this week, another multiple-vehicle chain-reaction crash on I-80 in the central part of the state should serve as a reminder to all drivers that winter driving can bring the unexpected at any point during your journey.
The car and truck collisions closed the westbound lanes of I-80 for about two hours as emergency personnel cleaned up the damaged vehicles and debris from the highway. The Pennsylvania State Police reported that 26 vehicles were involved in the chain-reaction crash, which apparently was caused by a sudden snow squall obscuring visibility and leaving the road surfaces slippery.
The state police noted that there were 11 separate crashes spread along 3 miles of the interstate. A truck driver commented that he heard “screaming” on his CB radio, from drivers who were involved in the crash scenes.
Remarkably, with multiple semi-trucks involved, there were no fatalities and no serious injuries reported, but some people with minor injuries were taken to the hospital. With chain-reactions crashes, sorting out the confusion and determining responsibility can be complex.
If you were involving in such an accident and suffered injuries, you should make certain a doctor has checked out all of your injuries and thoroughly documented your condition. While you may have been lucky and escaped being severely injured, even seemingly minor head and neck injuries can have long-term consequence.
To enable your recovery of compensation, you want to ensure that you have complete record of you medical condition after the crash, to allow doctors to trace back to a source, possible complications that may develop over time. And legal assistance may be necessary to help you obtain compensation, should your condition worsen.
Slick roads with snow and ice make driving in Pennsylvania winters a challenge. Allow extra time and always leave amble distance between your vehicle, which could keep you out of a dangerous chain-reaction crash.
Centraldaily.com, “Interstate 80 open after multivehicle crash,” February 12, 2015