UPDATED 2/18 1:40 P.M.
EL PASO, Ill. – Authorities are saying Interstate 39 south of El Paso is getting back to normal following a massive pileup at the height of Thursday’s snowstorm.
The Woodford County Sheriffs Department says as of 1:30 p.m. Friday both directions of Interstate 39 are now open again.
Troopers say it started around 3:15 p.m., as troopers responded to a multi-vehicle crash.
Nineteen vehicles and nine passenger cars were involved in the accident at first, but troopers say “numerous” other vehicles ended up sliding off the road undamaged.
More than a dozen tow trucks ended up on the scene, and drivers were being escorted to warming centers.
Charges, troopers say, are pending.
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UPDATE- 2/18 (9:08 a.m.)
A big pileup on Interstate 39, near El Paso, involving roughly 100 vehicles, were first reported by Illinois State Police around 3:13 p.m. Thursday.
“We do know that there were 19 tractor semi trailers that were damaged and approximately nine passenger vehicles. There were numerous other vehicles that were in the mix, that just slid off the roadway, and were just kind of stuck in the middle of the traffic,” said State Trooper Hailey Polistina.
Polistina told WMBD’s “The Greg and Dan Show”, suprisingly, no one was injured.
“I-39, near the El Paso area, both northbound and southbound, is closed, and will be closed for the forseeable time, through later today,” Polestina said.
Several of semis reportedly lost their loads in the pileup, making it more difficult for ISP to clear the roadways.
Interstates 55, 57, 74 and I-72, near Bloomington-Normal and Champaign were also shut down Thursday in the wake of the snowstorm.
Polistina said it’s still pretty dangerous out on the interstates.
“The roadways are still bad. There are other roadways that are closed at this time due to crashes and because of the wind blowing back on the roads, it’s still hazardous to drive in certain areas,” Polestina said.
She suggests checking road conditions at IDOT’s gettingaroundillinois.com before you leave home.
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PEORIA, Ill. — Illinois State Police troopers have reportedly been assisting crash victims involved in a massive series of collisions, spin outs and jack-knifed semi-trucks along multiple stretches of Central Illinois interstate highway.
The image produced by Google Maps traffic monitoring technology late Thursday night depicted chaos on Interstate 39, where dozens of vehicles were reportedly involved in a series of crashes near El Paso, Illinois.
However, major interstate shut downs and traffic jams could also be seen along rural stretches of Interstates 55, 57, 74 and I-72 around the cities of Bloomington-Normal and Champaign.
Authorities announced many of the interstate closures would likely last through the overnight hours between Thursday and Friday as authorities went out to find warmth for stranded or affected crash victims.
100 VEHICLE PILEUP ON I-39
Initial reports about the ISP and IDOT response to the massive crash scene along I-39 near El Paso came into the WMBD Radio newsroom shortly before 3:40 p.m. Thursday.
A release from ISP said the chaos on the road had spread for hundreds of yards down the interstate corridor and reportedly included 100 vehicles or more.
Video posted to social media showed the snow-covered stretch of interstate strewn with twisted metal, stranded and ditched vehicles as well as jack-knifed big rigs.
Local police in El Paso, at one point posted to twitter, “We highly encourage you to avoid any travel at this time due to hazardous road conditions.”
Later Thursday night ISP provided an update, saying precisely 19 commercial motor vehicles (CMV) and 9 passenger vehicles were involved in property damage crashes.
The updated release said, “numerous other vehicles” slid off in the area but were not damaged.
The road was strewn with debris from several spilled CMV loads.
As many as a dozen tow trucks were dispatched to help with clearing the roadway of all crashed or stranded vehicles.
Almost miraculously, Illinois State Police reported there were no injuries and troopers were able to rescue all stranded drivers and crash victims and get them to warming centers safely.
