Blizzard blamed for fatal pileup of 50 vehicles along Ohio highway

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Dozens of vehicles in snowy wreckage in Ohio

Images taken by Sean Mcgillivray show part of the piling, which occurred at the Sandusky-Erie County line, south of Sandusky.

SANDUSKY, Ohio – At least one person is reported dead and several others injured after a multi-vehicle pileup amid a blizzard in Ohio.

According to local officials, the crash site is on Interstate 80, which is also the Ohio Turnpike, at the Sandusky-Erie County border. It is south of Sandusky in the northwest part of the state.

Footage taken by Sean Mcgillivray shows part of the pile-up, showing numerous vehicles involved, including several tractor-trailers. A van appeared to be nose down with its bed in the air.

Police, deputies and firefighters are on site. The Ohio Highway Patrol says traffic is being diverted through the area and the tollway is closed.

There was no immediate word on the exact number of vehicles or the status of the injured, although FOX 8 in Cleveland reported 50 vehicles were involved and one person was killed.

Soldiers say the weather was to blame.

Toledo Fire and Rescue Photo

Drivers had been asked to stay off the roads on a busy day of travel due to the major winter storm battering much of the country.

In total, more than 200 million people were issued an advisory or warning on Friday, the National Weather Service said. The weather service’s map “represents one of the largest spans of winter weather warnings and advisories,” the forecasters said.

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The power outages left about 1.4 million homes and businesses in the dark, according to the PowerOutage website, which tracks utility reports. Utilities in Nashville, Memphis and throughout the Tennessee Valley said they were implementing blackouts Friday to conserve energy.

And more than 4,600 flights within, to or from the United States were canceled on Friday, according to tracking site FlightAware, causing more chaos as travelers try to get home for the holidays.

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Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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