One dead in I-80 crash of dozens of vehicles

55 tractor-trailers, 11 passenger vehicles involved

LOGANTON -- A crash involving dozens of vehicles on an interstate in central Pennsylvania claimed the life of one person Wednesday afternoon, state police reported.

A second individual died from a medical issue unrelated to the accident, Trooper Angela Bieber said. A state police spokesman had said earlier Thursday during a ZOOM news conference that included Gov. Tom Wolf that there were three fatalities. That was incorrect, she said.

State police said the crash was reported Wednesday afternoon in the westbound lanes of Interstate 80 in eastern Clinton County, between the Loganton and Lock Haven exits.

Police said initial reports indicated that the crash involved 30 to 60 vehicles with multiple injuries including two or three fatalities. But PennLive.com reported Thursday that the accident involved 55 tractor-trailer trucks and 11 passenger vehicles.

Heavy-duty wreckers were on the scene removing the damaged vehicles, police said. The accident occurred in the westbound lanes but the eastbound lanes were closed for a time Thursday to facilitate the cleanup, police said. Police had issued a reminder to people to "please stay home and do not travel unless it is absolutely necessary."

PennLive reported that the crash occurred not far from the site of a 58-vehicle crash a year ago today in a snow squall in which two people were killed.

On Wednesday, a large swath of the Northeast was blanketed in snow by the first major storm of the season, which smashed a decades-old snowfall record in Pennsylvania.

"Williamsport Regional Airport made history," the National Weather Service in State College said, reporting 24.7 inches of snow. Forecasters said that was the most snow from a single storm on record, breaking the previous record of 24.1 inches set there in January 1964.

Much of Pennsylvania's western and central regions saw accumulations in the double digits.

On Wednesday afternoon, the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning telling people in northern Pennsylvania to expect heavy snow with accumulations of 10 to 22 inches "with the highest amounts east of a line from State College to Lock Haven and Wellsboro."

In New Hampshire, there were at least 50 crashes and disabled vehicles due to poor road conditions as of Thursday morning.

In eastern New York, where more than 2 feet of snow was measured by

7 a.m. Thursday in suburban towns near Albany, numerous disabled cars were reported along Interstate 87.

The storm came at a critical time of the coronavirus pandemic, though officials said they didn't expect the winter blast to disrupt vaccine distribution. COVID-19 vaccines started being given to frontline health care workers earlier this week.