A wicked winter storm hit Missouri on Friday and caused hundreds of accidents and at least three fatalities.
One of the hardest hit areas was westbound I-70, near Oak Grove, which saw a massive 47 car pileup that caused “multiple injuries” and a fatality. The scary scene was caught on video by Twitter user @DanteJ21 who filmed car after car hitting each other.
In the short clip, you can see a Nissan drive between two big rigs before slamming into a white pickup which was involved in a previous accident. Seconds later, another big rig comes barreling down on the accident scene and appears to crash into several vehicles off camera.
Unbelievable footage from the pileup on I-70 today. My jaw dropped to the floor first time I saw this video. pic.twitter.com/kKeauYDlfG
— Dante’ Jones (@Dantej21) February 15, 2019
It’s quickly followed by a Buick Encore which travels between two big rigs, before crashing into the aforementioned pickup truck. The crossover eventually comes to a rest next to the red Nissan that we saw about 10 seconds earlier. The Buick is then hit by a white Nissan Altima which itself is hit a by GMC Sierra.
The pileup reportedly started with a single accident that occurred shortly before noon local time. The icy roads meant drivers couldn’t stop in time to avoid the accident, so a pileup quickly ensued.
I-70 was eventually shutdown and the Missouri State Highway Patrol used an ATV to check on stranded motorists. The highway was eventually reopened, at approximately 8:26 pm, and police warned motorists to stay off the roads if possible.
Their concern was warranted as the Missouri State Highway Patrol took to Facebook on Friday to reveal they had responded to 598 stranded motorists, 587 crashes, 53 injuries and one fatality since 9:00 am. At little before noon on Saturday, those numbers jumped to 779 stranded motorists, 729 crashes, 60 injuries and 3 fatalities.