22 cars involved in Interstate 70 pile-up

The Columbia Police Department responded to the I-70 crash.

By Alicia Stice

Published Aug. 25, 2010

Police officers were called to the scene of a crash involving 22 vehicles and 11 injuries on Friday, a Columbia Police Department news release stated.

The crash began on westbound I-70 just west of the I-70/ US 63 Connector when a Pontiac Grand Prix hydroplaned, spun around and struck a guardrail on the highway. A truck struck the Pontiac and was then hit by a Ford Escape, the release stated.

Three other westbound vehicles slowed or stopped to avoid the initial crash. A tractor-trailer, trying to avoid the accident, hit one of those cars, causing all four vehicles to wreck.

Five other small accidents quickly followed as a result of the traffic congestion, the news release stated.

The traffic backup from the initial crash caused a second large accident. A tractor-trailer attempted to slow down and lost control while trying to avoid a collision. It came to rest in a "jack-knife" position, blocking both lanes of westbound traffic on I-70, the news release stated. It then collided with two westbound vehicles. An RV failed to avoid the tractor-trailer, and the two collided.

That accident involved severe to minor injuries, the news release stated.

A total of nine people were taken to the hospital, and three were in serious condition following the accident, the release stated.

In an e-mail, CPD spokeswoman Jill Wieneke said drivers could help avoid pileups by allowing sufficient distance between themselves and the cars in front of them and by slowing down when it's raining.

"Hydroplaning can occur at very slow speeds, and is difficult to control if you don't know how," Wieneke said.

She also said drivers should avoid becoming distracted by phones and passengers and be prepared to stop.

"There is nothing we, as the police, can really do proactively but educate drivers and encourage people to slow down in inclement weather," Wieneke said in the e-mail.