Weather and Natural Disasters

20 vehicle pileup on snowy roads brings traffic on Connecticut interstate to a halt

A Saturday afternoon crash involving as many as 20 vehicles — including three tractor-trailers and a tanker truck — closed a section of Interstate 91 in Connecticut, authorities said.

Conntecticut State Police said there were no serious injuries in the pileup that occurred near exit 21 on the southbound side on I-91 in Middletown, as heavy snow from a massive winter storm was falling in southern New England.

Fuel tanks from at least two of the trucks ruptured, spilling diesel fuel onto the highway, according to Middletown Mayor Dan Drew who spoke to the WNBC television station in Hartford, which is north of the accident scene.

Millions of Americans on Saturday were struggling under a winter storm that blocked roads and covered airports in treacherous ice across the South Saturday, threatening to paralyze transportation from Alabama all the way to New York City and New England.

— AP also contributed to this report.