6 Now Confirmed Dead In 80-Vehicle I-81 Crash, Interstate Reopens

PENNSYLVANIA — There are now six people confirmed dead in the massive accident on I-81 in Schuylkill County Monday that involved some 80 vehicles. The updated count comes as authorities completed sifting through the wreckage from the crash and as the road finally reopened more than 36 hours after the incident.

Identities of the victims have not been publicly released as authorities are still notifying the families of victims, Pennsylvania State Police said Wednesday morning.

The interstate reopened to the public at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, as officials worked around the clock to investigate and clear the scene. The final estimates from state police noted a total of 80 vehicles involved, 20 more than had been initially reported. That included 41 passenger vehicles and 39 commercial vehicles, including numerous tractor trailers that caught fire.

State police had warned on Tuesday that the death count could grow from three, as they still had not worked their way through the entire scene.

The incident occurred in the midst of a snow squall at around 10:36 a.m. on Monday, in the northbound lanes between exits 116 and 119. The scene of the accident was about halfway between Harrisburg and Scranton.

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Video footage taken from the scene shows the pileup starting small, with a few trucks in a line and a few cars pulled off to the side of the road. As a passenger in one of the cars gets out, another vehicle smashes into his car at a high rate of speed, narrowly missing him. Seconds later another truck plows into the line of trucks. Things spiral from there.

A total of 24 people were injured. First responders struggled to approach the scene by vehicle due to the snow, and had to travel by foot to extricate victims who were trapped in cars and trucks. They remained on the scene for the next day and a half, working to both rescue the victims and to clear the rubble.

Hours of construction work were needed on the road once it was finally cleared, police said.

Some of the injured were able to walk away from the scene themselves. They were taken to four different area hospitals by ambulances. Others who walked away from the scene were taken by Schuylkill Transportation Service buses to the nearby Wegmans Distribution Center. Those persons went through triage there and were then taken to Minersville Fire Station, which served as a reunification center with family and friends.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing.