SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — Blizzard conditions cause separate pile-ups involving dozens of vehicles Wednesday afternoon on Interstate 29 and 90 in South Dakota.
The South Dakota Highway Patrol says eleven people were injured in the two pile-ups that were reported within about an hour of each other as visibility was severely reduced due to wind gusts of up to 60 mph and light snow.
The first pileup was reported at 11:41 a.m. and involved 15 vehicles in the northbound lanes of Interstate 29 near the Dell Rapids exit.
According to the Department of Public Safety, six people were injured in two different vehicles, and were taken by ambulance to hospitals in Dell Rapids and Sioux Falls.
He said the crashes occurred during white-out conditions.
The northbound lane was shut down for about six hours.
The second pileup crash was reported around 12:52 p.m. in the westbound lanes of Interstate 90 near mile marker 393 near Hartford.
The Department of Public Safety reports that many of the vehicles involved were semi-trucks, and about 25 vehicles sustained damage.
The five injured were transported to Sioux Falls hospitals with serious non-life-threatening injuries.
Non-injured occupants were transported by local emergency responders to the Flying J.
The westbound lane of the interstate was shut down by the Department of Transportation at the Marion Road exit and remained closed Wednesday night.
