A snow storm hits American states… 45 vehicles collide in one accident and thousands of flights are delayed Miscellaneous

The US state of Indiana witnessed a large mass collision due to a strong snowstorm that led to low visibility and the formation of layers of ice on the highways. This resulted in a series of collisions involving about 45 vehicles on the western lanes of I-70 near the town of Terre Haute, last Saturday, the 29th. This came as Matt Ames, media spokesman for the Indiana State Police, explained to People magazine.

Dozens of cars in one accident

According to local authorities’ data, dozens of vehicles – from family cars to transport trucks – were involved in a series of successive collisions, after a number of drivers lost control of their vehicles as a result of the sudden slide. The incident led to the complete closure of lanes, forcing travelers to remain inside their cars for hours in extremely low temperatures. Eyewitnesses described the scene as looking like “a tangled mass of metal stretching along the road.”

An Indiana State Police media spokesman confirmed that no serious injuries were reported.

The accident occurred just before 10 a.m. local time, amid falling snow, according to a live video broadcast by Ames on Facebook. He also pointed out that the authorities detected slides on the highway in the eastern direction.

In a subsequent post, published about five hours after his first post, Ames explained that the accident site had been evacuated, and snow had begun to fall again.

Paralysis in air travel

Des Moines Airport had recorded 28 centimeters of snow as of midnight Sunday, the highest two-day snowfall in the city since January 2024. No injuries were reported in the plane accident, which the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.

Several areas in Iowa saw more than a full foot of snow fall on Saturday, while parts of Illinois, including Chicago, recorded about 5 inches of snow as amounts continued to rise.

The storm caused major disruption in the aviation sector, as more than 4,600 flights were delayed within the United States or to and from its airports on Sunday, in addition to the cancellation of 576 flights, according to data from the FlightAware website. Flights to and from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport accounted for more than 25% of the total delays.

Heavy snowfall was recorded last Saturday at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, setting a new record for the snowiest November day in Chicago.

Illinois State Police reported nearly 500 traffic accidents in the Chicago area on Saturday, with 66 resulting in injuries.

Parts of the US East Coast are expected to see cold rain from mid-morning through the early evening hours, with travel likely to be affected in several cities, including Cleveland, Buffalo, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.; Charlotte, North Carolina, and Atlanta.