At least one person killed in multi-vehicle pile-up on I-79 in Butler County
At least one person is dead in a multi-vehicle pile-up in Butler County.
According to the Pennsylvania State Police, several crashes occurred on I-79 on Friday morning, causing the highway to shut down in both directions, and "at least 18 vehicles" were involved.
PennDOT added that both the northbound and southbound lanes have been closed between Exit 78 (Cranberry/Mars) and Exit 88 (Zeilienople) due to a multi-vehicle crash.
WATCH: Witness describes the scene on I-79
Wendy Graff and her husband were in a dump truck traveling down I-79 when the crash happened.
"As we were coming down the road, I saw people putting brake lights on, and I yelled at my husband, and there were cars spinning out of control," recalled Wendy Graff. "My husband was literally sideways, and luckily, somehow, with his driving, he missed everybody."
Graff told KDKA-TV that there are cars, SUVs, and tractor-trailers sideways across the road and the hillside.
The rapidly changing weather and road conditions came as a surprise.
"It was perfectly fine. We went through Cranberry, and there was a little bit of snow blowing on the roads, and then all of a sudden, we hit just completely snow-covered and icy roads. We slid for about 200 feet, I would say, on the ice and the bad roads."
The closure will remain in place until the crash is cleared.
Meanwhile, PennDOT has reminded drivers that a speed limit restriction is in place on I-79 due to winter weather. Speed has been reduced to 45 in both north and southbound directions between PA 5 in Erie and all the way to Butler.
We have a crew heading to the scene and will bring you the latest updates on KDKA-TV and KDKA.com.