At Least 2 Dead Along I-80 In Pennsylvania After 18-Vehicle Pileup

A quick lake-effect snow band created deadly conditions along Interstate 80 in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, Wednesday.

Eighteen vehicles, including at least nine trucks, were involved in a pileup at mile marker 65 around 1:40 p.m. ET, according to NBC Philadelphia. At least two people were killed and 10 were injured, down from 30 earlier.

State police spokesman Trooper Jamie Levier said the number may have been inflated by authorities assuming a bus full of 20 passengers was headed to a hospital, the Associated Press said. The passengers aboard the bus were keeping warm after the crash. 

The victims were identified Thursday as Timothy Floravit, 35, of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and Leonard Mink, 67, of Nancy, Kentucky, according to the Associated Press. Floravit died from chest and stomach injuries sustained after he hit the steering column of his car. Mink climbed out of his rig to help other motorists and was struck and killed by another car. 

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Vern Smith, the county director of emergency services, confirmed whiteout conditions at the time, according to WPXI.com.

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation closed a 10-mile stretch of the westbound lanes so the wreck could be cleared; it was still shutdown as of 11:37 p.m. ET.

The forecast calls for more lake-effect snow in the region through Friday, particularly around the snow belt east of Lake Erie. 

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