Deadly Collision That Closes Pike For Hours Among Several Crashes

A four-vehicle crash that killed one, injured nine and left the Mass Pike closed for five hours was the worst of several crashes reported on slick roads Thursday morning.

State police said the crash occurred around 2:40 a.m. when a tractor-trailer driving east in Blandford lost control and crashed into another tractor-trailer, a box truck and a pickup truck. Five people were brought to Baystate Medical Center, while four suffered minor injuries. Police have not identified the victim who died.

The Pike was closed for nearly five hours until the left lane reopened around 7:30 a.m. All lanes reopened an hour later.

Several other crashes were reported, many mucking up an already sloppy commute.

A four-car crash on I-93 North near the Wilmington/Tewksbury line left only one lane open for some time, severely jamming traffic around 8 a.m. The crash has since cleared.

Two lanes were closed on I-495 North for about 30 minutes for a crash in Harvard, police said. That crash was cleared up by 7:30 p.m.

On I-95 South in Danvers, a crash was blocking three lanes during the early-morning commute, WBZ Traffic reported. In the northbound lanes Boxford, a crash blocked the left lane.

WBZ also reported a crash in Auburn just before the I-290 East on-ramp caused heavy delays.

Billerica Police said a car carrier overturned, closing High Street.

A car in Wellesley couldn't make a ramp and went off the road, police said.

All lanes are open westbound in Framingham following a truck crash, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation said.

On I-95 in Seabrook, N.H., two commercial vehicles collided. It appears from the picture above that a box truck and oil tanker crashed.

While it wasn't a crash, "deployment mechanical issues" closed the I-93 HOV lane in Braintree for about 30 minutes this morning, the MassDOT said.

State police lifted a restriction of part of the Mass Pike around 9 a.m., allowing for vehicles to travel more than 40 miles per hour.

Forecasters and officials were warning of a dangerous Thursday morning commute. The snow started late Wednesday night, and while only a couple inches fell, it morphed into sleet and freezing rain in some areas.

MassDOT had more than 1,200 pieces of equipment working the roads as of Thursday morning.