Nearly 30 vehicles pile up on Pennsylvania highway amid snow squall whiteout conditions

More than two dozen vehicles have been involved in a chain-reaction crash on a central Pennsylvania highway after a snow squall caused whiteout conditions.

About 27 vehicles were involved in the crash just after 1 p.m. Wednesday on Route 222, about 60 miles (95 kilometres) west of Philadelphia, Wyomissing Police Chief Jeffrey Biehl said. Some cars, however, were just stuck at the crash site and not damaged. Biehl said all vehicles were cleared by 4 p.m.

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About nine injured motorists were taken to a hospital. Biehl didn’t know their conditions.

Footage from the scene shows jackknifed big rigs and some cars off the roadway and down embankments.

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About an hour later, a second pileup was reported on Interstate 78 near Hamburg, roughly 30 miles (48 kilometres) northeast of the Wyomissing crash. About 14 vehicles were involved and injuries are minor.

There was also a 20-car pileup Wednesday in New York on the state’s thruway. About 20 cars were involved in the crash between Buffalo and Rochester, state police said. A trooper suffered non-life threatening injuries in the crash, police said. The number and extent of other injuries wasn’t immediately known.