Winter Weather — Hendricks, Indiana

2013-01-31 · Hendricks, Indiana

Event narrative

Indiana State Police say weather conditions and driver error contributed to the massive pileup on Interstate 70 that injured 10 people and involved approximately 40 vehicles.

According to a report from state police, the crash happened around 2:06 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 31 along I-70 westbound at the 65 mile marker.

Around the time of the crash, 'a sudden snow fall occurred, creating a white-out condition and bringing visibility to nearly zero,' the report said. The whiteout conditions caused vehicles to 'brake suddenly and at different rates.' While passenger vehicles were able to stop quickly, that wasn't the case with semi-trucks.

Drivers 'could not provide specifics as to the events of the crash but indicated visibility was suddenly lost and vehicles began crashing into each other,' the report said. Weather conditions immediately preceding the crash indicated no such whiteout conditions. However, drivers said that all changed quickly when they reached the 65 mile marker.

The road 'flash froze,' according to one driver, and visibility became nearly nonexistent. Cars and trucks began spinning as they tried to stop, and a semi-truck jackknifed in the road. Other semis continued driving at 'high speeds and crashing.' A chain reaction of crashes resulted, including a collision involving two of the larger vehicles.

Investigators 'could not determine' which vehicle was slow to slow or stop, the report said. Investigators concluded that nearly all drivers were going too fast to adjust to the whiteout conditions and some were following other vehicles too closely.

Almost simultaneously, another crash involving multiple vehicles happened in the eastbound lanes of I-70. State police attributed that crash to whiteout conditions and high speeds.

The eastbound report said vehicles started to hit the brakes because a semi-truck had started to jackknife across the lanes. Several crashes resulted as other trucks and cars tried to avoid slamming into vehicles in front of them. Some of those vehicles started to slide because of the road conditions.

Wider weather episode

A number of heavy snow squalls moved across portions of central Indiana during the afternoon of the 31st of January as a weak frontal boundary pushed across the area. One particular snow squall may have been a part of what caused a 40-car pile-up on Interstate 70. There were 10 injuries reported from the accident. At least 20 semi-trucks and 15 cars were involved in the crash.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 432269. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.