MADISON, Wis. — Dozens of people were injured in a massive traffic pileup amid snowy conditions in southern Wisconsin on Friday, which blocked Interstate 39/90 for hours, authorities said.
Wisconsin State Patrol said 85 vehicles appeared to have been involved and 21 people were taken to area hospitals to be treated for injuries not thought to be life-threatening.
State Patrol officials said snow, ice and whiteout conditions were factors in the crash.
Most of southern Wisconsin remained under a winter weather advisory Friday afternoon with more snow expected Saturday.
The crash occurred at around 12:30 p.m. in Rock County between Janesville and Beloit, the State Patrol said in a statement posted on its Facebook page. Troopers arrived to find the interstate blocked in both directions.
Troopers diverted traffic onto side roads. All lanes had reopened by 9:45 p.m., the State Patrol late Friday.
WIFR-TV posted live video of the scene just before 4 p.m. showing semitrailers backed up as emergency workers assisted motorists.
As of 6 a.m. Friday, the Beloit area had seen 2.2 inches of snow over the last 24 hours, according to the National Weather Service.
The State Patrol said in a separate statement that another multi-vehicle crash around 1:30 p.m. Friday blocked northbound Interstate 41 in Kenosha County near the Wisconsin-Illinois border. Those lanes reopened by 7:35 p.m. Snow, ice and whiteout conditions factored into that crash as well, according to the State Patrol.