INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A burst of snow across central Indiana on Monday caused multicar-pileups that closed three major highways around Indianapolis.
A 12-vehicle crash closed all eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 on the city's east side. Crashes also closed the eastbound lanes of Interstate 465 on the south side and southbound lanes of Interstate 65 just south of the city.
State Police Sgt. Rich Myers said troopers were working 45 crashes around Indianapolis early Monday afternoon. No serious injuries were reported.
Throughout central and northern Indiana, where more snow fell, police were working a rash of fender-benders and slideoffs, and snow plows were out in force.
Myers urged motorists to slow down for slick roads. "It's not that much snow," he said.
National Weather Service scientist Brad Herold said nearly half an inch fell in Indianapolis by 1 p.m., with a few more fractions of an inch expected. Snow was expected to taper off overnight.
Further north, about 6 inches of snow fell near South Bend in varying amounts, with Roseland just northeast of the city receiving 7½ inches, said weather service meteorologist Evan Bentley.
State police in northern Indiana said no major roads were reported closed.
Road conditons as of 4:30 p.m.
Toll Road: Lots of slide-offs. Police say it’s particularly bad near Mishawaka between the 70 and 80 mile markers.
Marshall County: Road are very slick with many slide-offs. There were two different serious accidents this afternoon – one at U.S. 6 west of Tamarack, and the other at 31 and 110. There is no word on the extent of the injuries, but helicopters were called to transport patients at both. Because of the weather, those helicopters were unable to make the flights.
St. Joseph County, Indiana: Lots of crashes and slide-offs but no serious injury accidents.
LaPorte County: Lots of snow drifting over roads. Lots of crashes and slide-offs, but nothing serious.
Elkhart County: Slide-offs all over. No serious crashes this afternoon.
Berrien County: Dispatcher says to not leave the house if you don’t have to. There have been a lot of slide-offs on I-94.
Cass County: Dispatcher says all of the roads are slick and there have been a lot of slide-offs. Five were injured in a Dowagiac crash on M-51: The Cass County Sheriff’s Department reported David Lear, 60, was driving south on the highway, just north of Downey Street, about 1:50 p.m. when his auto crossed the centerline and struck an oncoming car driven by Michael Shields, 58. Lear, Shields and three children in the Lear auto identified as Kevin Milliken, 12, Joseph Lear, 8, and Mercedes Tingue, 8, were all taken to Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital, police said. The extent of their injuries wasn’t immediately known.
Kosciusko County: The dispatcher said they have NOT been seeing many slide-offs and crashes.
LaGrange County: Bad all over with many crashes and slide-offs. Nothing serious.
St. Joseph County, Michigan: The dispatcher says to stay off the roads. There have been many accidents and slide-offs, but nothing too serious in regards to injuries.
