Massive Pileup On Iowa Interstate During Blizzard

Nearly 40 vehicles, including two Iowa State Patrol cars, were involved in a pileup as snow battered the state Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

The crash happened just before noon in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 near Newton, about 35 miles east of Des Moines, according to the agency.

Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Alex Dinkla said Thursday icy roads and blizzard-like conditions caused the first wreck and led to a chain reaction involving more vehicles.

‘That’s telling us vehicles are traveling way too fast for the conditions and whenever some incident is happening in front of them, they are traveling too fast and they’re unable to slow down in time,’ Dinkla said, according to NBC affiliate WHO.

Iowa State Patrol troopers were checking on crash victims when their squad cars were totaled in the wreckage.