Massive Pileup Shuts Down Interstate 81 in New York
Heavy lake-effect snow is being blamed for the massive pile-up.
— -- A multiple-vehicle crash involving at least 30 cars and four tractor-trailers caused a massive pileup that shut down Interstate 81 in Ellisburg, New York, near Syracuse, state police said today.
Photos and videos posted to social media by motorists show the huge cluster of vehicles tangled up in the snow, each one spun in various directions.
An Iraq war veteran posted a video of the scene to his Facebook.
"I’m alright, I got a little scratch on my finger, but that’s it," Ian Wagner said in the video. "It was a year ago yesterday [...] that I was headed out to go on patrol in Iraq, so I guess you can consider this 'Alive Day Number Two', huh?
The crash was weather-related, and there were no serious injuries reported so far, police said.
A makeshift shelter has been set up at the Adams Fire Department nearby, police said. Drivers and passengers involved in the accident are being bused from the scene to the Fire Department.
All northbound lanes of I-81 are closed from Exit 37 (Village of Sandy Creek), where traffic is being detoured, to Exit 40 (Town of Ellisburg) due to heavy lake-effect snow.