Updated: Bridge Lanes Re-Open After 5-Car Pileup Tuesday Morning on Newport Bridge

NEWPORT, RI—A six-car accident in the eastbound lanes of the Newport Pell Bridge made the commute difficult Tuesday morning.

Patch reader Wade K. Paquin sent Patch a message around 8:15 Tuesday morning about a pileup with about 5 cars involved.

According to the state police, they were called at 8:56 a.m. for an accident in the eastbound lanes.

That accident has been cleared, but one eastbound lane is now closed, per RI Turnpike and Bridge Authority. That's unrelated to the accident.

As far as the accident earlier, State Police Capt. Matthew Moynihan said one car struck another in the high-speed lane, setting off a chain reaction of crashes involving a total of six vehicles.

As a result of those crashes, the toll booth was shut down to prevent additional vehicles from entering the bridge until traffic could get past the accident scene, Captain Moynihan said. The high-speed lane on the westbound side of the bridge also was closed to allow rescue crews to access the scene.

All lanes were reopened to traffic at 9:41 a.m., Captain Moynihan said.

One person suffered minor injuries and was transported to South County Hospital, said Laura Kirk.

"One lane on each side of the bridge was closed for about an hour, from 8:45 to 9:45 a.m., while the crash was cleared away," she said. "All lanes were reopened to traffic and state police cleared the scene at 9:41 a.m."

As for a cause, "the crash resulted from congestion on the bridge, when one car apparently was struck from behind by another, setting off other collisions as well," she said.