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Pedro Mata Jr. said he could barely see the cars in front of him
as the snow blew across the road while driving 20-25 mph (32-40
kph) before the crash. He was able to stop his pickup safely,
but then decided to pull his truck off the road into the median
to avoid being hit from behind.
“It was a little scary just listening to everything, the bangs
and booms behind you. I saw what was in front of me. I couldn’t
see what was behind me exactly,” Mata said.
The crash is just the latest impact of the major winter storm
moving across the country. The National Weather Service issued
warnings about either extremely cold temperatures or the
potential for winter storms across several states starting in
northern Minnesota and stretching south and east into Wisconsin,
Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.
A day earlier, snow fell as far south as the Florida Panhandle
and made it harder for football players to hang onto the ball
during playoff games in Massachusetts and Chicago. Forecasters
warned Monday that freezing temperatures are possible overnight
into Tuesday across much of north-central Florida and southeast
Georgia.
The Ottawa County Sheriff's office in Michigan said multiple
crashes and jack-knifed semis were reported along with numerous
cars that slid off the road. Stranded motorists were being bused
to Hudsonville High School, where they could call for help or
arrange a ride.
Officials expected the road to be closed for several hours
during the cleanup.
One of the companies helping remove the stranded cars, Grand
Valley Towing, sent more than a dozen of its trucks to the scene
of the chain-reaction crash. Several towing companies responded
in the brutally cold weather.
“We’re trying to get as many vehicles out of there as quickly as
possible, so we can get the road opened back up,” manager Jeff
Westveld said.
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Associated Press Writers Julie Walker in New York and Josh Funk
in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed.
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