Icy roads led to a 55 vehicle pileup involving several semis in Wakefield, Massachusetts, this morning.
As freezing rain made roads dangerously slick, chain-reaction crashes started taking place around 6:30 a.m. on northbound Route 128 near the Route 129 Exit.
Eight people suffered minor injuries in the crash.
Route 128 was closed for hours, but crews have removed the crashed vehicles and the road has reopened.
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker is urging drivers to be careful and patient: “We urge all drivers to exercise extreme caution as driving is very difficult due to icy conditions and to be patient as public safety officials respond to multiple incidents impacting our highways.”
MassDOT has also reported a 20 vehicle pileup in on Route 128 in Newton.
Mass DOT’s Tom Timlin stated, “I think the forecast was caught by surprise. No one forecasted that quick burst of rain that came through that washed away all that salt and the pretreat.”
55-vehicle crash on Route 128 is 1 of many multi-car crashes https://t.co/eB5sqnoxMY pic.twitter.com/xZY6HoXCMn
— WCVB-TV Boston (@WCVB) February 8, 2017
Sources:
Fox 25 Boston
Somerville Wicked Local
WDSU
WCVB