BUTLER COUNTY, Pa. — A fast-moving snow squall is being blamed for a series of crashes Friday on Interstate 79 that closed a portion of the interstate for hours.
RAW VIDEO: Snow squall leads to crashes in Butler County
Twenty vehicles were involved in crashes just before noon in Worth Township, Butler County. State police said the overall scene involved multiple reportable crashes, multiple non-reportable crashes and numerous disabled motorists that became stuck in the median trying to avoid the collisions.
The northbound lanes were closed for about two hours while tow trucks removed the damaged vehicles and made repairs.
In one of the crashes, a tractor-trailer jackknifed and crashed through a guardrail on the interstate. It was one of several separate crashes on the section of road just north of Route 422. A second multi-vehicle crash caused a lane restriction on Route 422 west near Butler.
Several drivers told Channel 11 that they drove through other snow squalls on Friday.
"There was a whiteout up in Slippery Rock on 79 all the way past Portersville," Josh Bennett said.
"We live up in Harrisonville, and there was a whiteout just on our way to the gas station," driver Daniele Pawlowicz said.
State police said two people suffered minor injuries and went to hospitals as a precaution.
Police said Interstate 79 north will be closed Sunday, starting at 7 a.m., between Exit 99 and Exit 105 for the removal of a truck involved that has an oversized load. The closure is expected to last a couple of hours.
A detour will be in place, using State Route 422 to State Route 19 to State Route 108.
Cox Media Group
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