I-39 crash – 100 car pile-up in 'heavy snow' shuts down Illinois highway as cops warn road will be closed for 12 HOURS
AT least 100 cars were involved in a pile-up on Interstate 39 as a winter storm wreaked havoc in Illinois.
Several crashes happened near El Paso – located around 50 miles east of the city of Peoria just after 3pm local time Thursday.
Footage shows jack-knifed trucks and stalled vehicles as motorists were left stranded in 0F temperatures.
The mercury could plunge even further to a bone-chilling -4F early on Friday morning.
The interstate is set to be closed for around 12 hours, according to state police.
Cops said: "We highly encourage you to avoid any travel due to hazardous road conditions."
It’s not known if there have been any injuries, ABC7 reports.
Interstate 74 was also blocked following a crash involving semi-trailers.
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Master Sgt Matt McCormick told the Associated Press: "Numerous crashes and whiteout conditions are making travel extremely dangerous if not impossible."
And, lanes on Interstate 57 were also gridlocked amid the whiteout.
There were also accidents in New Berlin and Mansfield, according to police.
The chaos came as at least six inches of snow fell across Illinois.
More than 380 flights were canceled at Chicago O'Hare airport and more than 140 were axed at Midway, according to Sun-Times.
Waves reaching heights of up to 14 feet that were whipped by 40mph gusts also wreaked havoc.
Snow is set to cause more travel issues on Friday and school districts in the state have moved to online learning.
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