Storm Moves Off East Coast
An eastern storm that paralyzed the region and left at least 13 people dead moved off the coast Friday, leaving a blanket of snow in its wake.
Blinding weather conditions Thursday caused a 116-vehicle pileup in northern Virginia that killed one and resulted in more than 115 injuries.
The storm raced from North Carolina into New York by the evening rush hour, dumping 10 inches in parts of southeastern Pennsylvania. Accumulations were limited to about 6 inches in most areas.
The weather closed dozens of schools and highways and caused traffic accidents that killed 13 people in Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and West Virginia.
Despite expected snow showers over New England Friday, forecasters predicted a break from the blustery weather.
In North Carolina, two people, including a teenager on her way to school, were killed after the storm-coated roads with freezing rain, snow and sleet, authorities said.
The weather forced hundreds of Pennsylvania schools to be closed and caused two deaths in the western part of the state.
In West Virginia, two people died after weather-related collisions, police said. In Maryland, another two motorists were killed in separate collisions.
New Jersey State Police reported at least four multiple-vehicle crashes on major highways, resulting in three deaths.
"The traffic was throwing snow up like dust," said Dennis Eddy, who totaled his Ford pickup in a 20-vehicle pileup in New Jersey. "People just kept piling up. By the time you saw people, it was too late."
New Jersey Department of Transportation spokesman John Dourgarian said the state had 1,200 plows cleaning roads and spreading salt.
The Virginia pileup, near the nation's capital, started about 10:30 a.m. after a car collided into a tractor-trailer and caught fire on Interstate 95 near Garrisonville.
"The scope of this is so large, we only know what's going on the back end via radio on the front end," said Charlie Robertson, a spokesman for the Stafford fire department.
State police spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell said the pileup extended for three miles. In all, 14 people were taken to the hospital, and more than 100 had minor injuries, Caldwell said. Rescue crews transported drivers to a shelter at a nearby elementary school.
"You see it coming, and there's nothing you can do," said driver Reshea Pierce. "You just brace yourself for a head-on collision. There were cars knocking other cars off the road."
North of Baltimore, a five-mile stretch of southbound I-95 - one of the nation's busiest highways - was closed for more than two hours following a series of crashes.
On I-64 in Virginia, a tractor-trailer carrying tires, another carrying frozen food and two other trucks collided, dumping their cargos on the road. The tires caught fire and burned for several hours, sending out thick plumes of black smoke. Eight people were injured.
By noon, the interstate wa littered with abandoned vehicles as people hitched rides with police to get out of the storm.
Virginia had several other multiple-vehicle pileups that caused dozens of injuries. One person was killed in a multi-vehicle accident on Interstate 64 west of Richmond.
"I've seen a lot of bad weather, a lot of wrecks, a lot of killing," said Jim Roberts, 61, a trucker who got stuck behind a crash on Interstate 64 east of Charlottesville. "On a scale of one to 10, this is a 10."