52 Vehicle Crash: Ohio, White-Out Causes Several Injuries And Teen Death, Details
Snowy "white-out" conditions along with slippery roads in Ohio are blamed as the cause for three pileup accidents that involved 150 vehicles and the death of a 12-year-old girl on Monday.
Fifty-two cars, which included two semitrailers, collided with one another on Interstate 75 going southbound near the Ohio 122 exit in Middletown shortly before noon. The large accident resulted in severe wreckage across the road and caused traffic for several miles, according to Ohio Highway Patrol.
While nobody besides the little girl suffered life-threatening injuries, nine individuals were taken to the Atrium Medical Center for the treatment of bumps and bruises.
"It just came out of the blue. There was a white-out from the squall that came through the area so people couldn't see, then the road got coated. It was like a perfect storm," Sgt. Scott Bierer of the patrol's Lebanon post told The Dayton Daily News.
Although light snow flurries had already been predicted as a strong possibility on Monday, the white-out event was completely unanticipated.
At roughly the same time of the massive pileup on I-75, 86 cars and trucks crashed on I-275 near the Colerain Avenue exit. Roughly 20 people were said to be injured in the collision and a 12-year-old girl was killed when she got out of her vehicle following the incident.
The girl has yet to been identified by name but was reportedly standing in the median and was either hit by another vehicle or a guardrail that snapped, according to authorities.
A third accident that involved up to 20 cars occurred at roughly 12:30 p.m. on I-270 south close to Westerville, according to the Columbus dispatch. Three people were transported to hospitals with minor injuries.
Franklin County Sheriff's Office officials weren't available for comments on the crashes but Cpl. Robert Burns, who was at one of the scenes, said that the pileup was caused by low visibility and ice due to the snow.