News Release
SOUTH BEND — Whiteout weather conditions led to numerous crashes along the Indiana Toll Road on Monday in both directions, snarling traffic for hours.
Problems began to multiply at about 11:17 a.m., when Indiana State Police Dispatch began receiving calls of crashes involving multiple vehicles blocking eastbound lanes of the Indiana Toll Road near mile marker 67, five miles west of Exit 72 for the US 20/31 Bypass.
Authorities say that the area had been experiencing snow and windy conditions that created severely limited visibility and caused the road to be very slick and icy.
Preliminary investigation indicates that several vehicles traveling eastbound began to spin out on a bridge near mile marker 67 when a pickup towing a trailer made evasive actions to avoid these vehicles. The pickup hit the bridge wall, causing the trailer to disconnect and come to a final rest in the eastbound lanes.
This set in motion a chain reaction of crashes behind this original crash. These crashes involved dozens of vehicles that left eastbound lanes blocked with wreckage and vehicles stuck in backed-up traffic for miles. An additional series of crashes that involved multiple vehicles blocked the westbound lanes near mile marker 68.
Eastbound traffic was diverted off the Indiana Toll Road at Exit 49 and westbound traffic was diverted at Exit 72 while crews worked to remove crashed vehicles and for the crash investigations to be completed. Eastbound and westbound lanes reopened at approximately 4:17 p.m.
Injuries were reported in several crashes, and the patients were transported to area hospitals. None of the injuries was considered life-threatening.
Additional crashes occurred throughout the afternoon, primarily in St. Joseph County and LaPorte County, as these dangerous conditions persisted.
