Chicago Kennedy Expressway Closed - A combination of strong wings and lake effect snow inspired a multi-vehicle chain crash, which caused a major pileup on the Kennedy Expressway.
According to Illinois State Police, the incident happened on Sunday morning around 10:30 a.m. The crash, which involved about 40 vehicles, happened on the reversible lanes heading inward spanning from Ohio Street all through to North Avenue.
"The visibility was so bad," Kalie Duffy, a driver at the scene with her family told AP. "As soon as it cleared, boom, there are cars all over and before you know it they're all smashing along sides."
Another driver Justin Giles said "Everyone started spinning out of control." " One thing led to another and everyone's piled up now."
Reports indicate that following the incident, about 12 people were hospitalized, including a firefighter, who slipped and fell. However, sources say none of the injuries were fatal.
About 51 people reportedly refused medical treatment at the scene of the accident.
"It could have been a lot worse," said Chief Don Hroma, Chicago Fire Department. "The snow obviously played a role in this accident."
The debris from the multi-car crash was cleared by about 75 members of Chicago's Fire Department. The process caused the reversible lanes of the Kennedy to be shut down for more than 7 hours. As expected, this resulted in a nightmare traffic jam.
Authorities believe that heavy snow conditions were responsible for the multiple car crash. According to Anne Sheahan, spokeswoman for the Department of Streets and Sanitation, about 300 trucks were deployed to lay down salt and to help clear roads filled with the heavy snowfall.
Salt spreaders and snow plows concentrated their work on principal streets as the snow continued falling.
The Chicago Kennedy Expressway was reopened just before 6 p.m. after being closed for almost the whole day.
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