March 30 (UPI) -- Six people have now died after a multi-vehicle collision in Pennsylvania that closed a highway for 40 hours, state police confirmed Wednesday.
Another 24 people were injured in the crash, which occurred Monday morning in Schuylkill County, in the heart of the state's coal region, Pennsylvania State Police said in a release.
The pileup began in the northbound lanes of a snowy stretch of Interstate 81 near Minersville, according to police, who believe weather and visibility were factors.
It ended up involving a total of 80 different cars and trucks, including 41 passenger vehicles and several tractor trailer trucks. Several of the vehicles caught on fire.
The road eventually reopened at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The 24 injured people were taken to four separate hospitals while those that were able to escape under their own power were taken by bus nearby to be reunited.
"The snow came out of nowhere. I was just driving back and then could see only one car in front of me, and then it went fully white, I couldn't even see 3 feet in front of me," witness Lillie Weaver told NBC.
"I was hearing loud bangs, explosions, and then I saw the smoke. That was the one thing I could see was black smoke from the tractor-trailer."
