Tuesday, January 6, 2015

4 SEPARATE SEMI TRUCK CRASHES SNARL COMMUTE IN CINCINNATI, OHIO



4 SEPARATE SEMI TRUCK CRASHES SNARL COMMUTE IN CINCINNATI, OHIO
12:34 p.m. EST January 6, 2015


(Photo: Provided/ODOT)

As overnight snow continued Tuesday morning, four separate crashes -- all involving jack-knifed semi trucks -- closed parts of the interstate during the morning commute.
Northbound I-71 reopened after it was closed for about three hours near Fields Ertel Road. Officials were forced to salt the highway after a semi lost control in the area and crashed across all lanes of northbound traffic, hitting a Hamilton County Sheriff's Deputy's vehicle around 6:15 a.m. Authorities opened two lanes of the highway near Mason at 8 a.m. but closed the northbound side again shortly after to try to move the tractor-trailer. All northbound lanes reopened around 9:15 a.m.

No one was injured in the crash, officials said.
A tractor-trailer crashed into a car, which then smashed into a guard rail on eastbound I-74 near the Ohio/Indiana state line, according to emergency communications. Officials shut down the highway in both directions at 8:30 a.m., but reopened the westbound lanes at 8:45 a.m. The eastbound lanes reopened at 9:30 a.m.
A state trooper was involved in a head-on crash on U.S. 50 near Ohio 540 in Clermont County. Four people were sent to the hospital after the crash, but none of the injuries were serious, officials said.
Authorities shut down the road in both directions, but reopened it around 8:15 a.m.
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Minutes after authorities closed northbound I-71, a semi lost control and crashed on northbound I-75 near Allen Road in West Chester. Officials closed all northbound lanes of the highway for that crash as well, but reopened two lanes shortly after. All but one lane was open at 8 a.m.
Earlier Tuesday, a semi crashed on the exit ramp from northbound Interstate 75 to Cincinnati-Dayton Road. That happened around 5:30 a.m. No injuries were reported, but authorities shut down the ramp. The ramp reopened around 6:45 a.m.
The city of Monroe declared a snow emergency at 7:30 a.m. Motorists can still drive, but city officials said cars parked on all streets need to be moved.