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Multi-car pileups on interstates claim at least 2 lives

In this image from PennDOT via FoxTV, more than 20 cars are piled up on I-76 in Philadelphia after freezing rain on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2015. Slick roads caused a number of crashes, including collisions that also closed parts of Interstates 95 and 476 in and around Philadelphia. (AP Photo/PennDOT via FoxTV) In this image from PennDOT via FoxTV, more than 20 cars are piled up on I-76 in Philadelphia after freezing rain on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2015. Slick roads caused a number of crashes, including collisions that also closed parts of Interstates 95 and 476 in and around Philadelphia. (AP Photo/PennDOT via FoxTV)

By Associated Press January 18, 2015 1 min read

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Multi-car pile-ups in icy conditions on interstates in the Philadelphia area have claimed at least two lives.

State police in Delaware County say two people were killed in a crash involving multiple vehicles in the southbound lanes of Interstate 476 on Sunday morning.

Another pileup involving more than 20 cars that shut all lanes of Interstate 76 west of Philadelphia was blamed on “flash-freezing.”

The Delaware River Port Authority closed bridges linking Philadelphia and New Jersey while workers put down more salt, but began reopening lanes by midmorning.

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokesman Eugene Blaum called travel conditions “very hazardous.”

PennDOT said at least 14 accidents were reported on the region’s major highways.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority canceled early bus service in Philadelphia but planned to resume service as of 11 a.m. Sunday.