3 killed in pileup crash on snowy Interstate 80

Staff and wire reports

CLINTONVILLE, Pa.

A 10-mile stretch of Interstate 80 was closed in western Pennsylvania after a series of snowy chain-reaction crashes involving between 50 and 70 vehicles left three people dead Saturday.

State police in Franklin are investigating but not releasing information beyond that provided by Venango County 911 supervisor Mary Beth White.

She says the crashes began around 2:20 p.m. Saturday and the eastbound side of the highway was reopened after several hours, but the westbound side remained closed Saturday evening and was expected to remain so into the night as emergency crews struggled to reach some cars.

The vehicles either crashed into one another or into a median strip, and White says there are three confirmed fatalities. The county coroner didn’t immediately return calls.

The same snowy weather prompted a 32-vehicle crash around noon on Interstate 79 in Deer Creek Township, Mercer County, but no serious injuries or fatalities were reported.

A news release from state police in Mercer said I-79 was closed for nearly three hours and the investigation continues.

State police units from the Mercer, Butler, New Castle and Meadville barracks responded as well as the American Red Cross and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

Fifteen wreckers moved disabled vehicles, and a school bus was used to transport stranded motorists.

Today’s weather forecast for the Mahoning Valley calls for mostly sunny skies and not as cold with highs in the lower 40s.

Tonight, it should be mostly clear in the evening and then become partly cloudy overnight with lows in the lower 30s.

Monday’s forecast calls for partly cloudy with highs in the mid-40s.