(UPDATE, 5:30 p.m.) Smooth roads caused by an avalanche were a contributing factor in a crash involving at least 30 vehicles that closed Interstate 90 in Billings on Saturday for about four hours. Kyle Hayter with Montana Highway Patrol.
Montana Highway Patrol troops are still investigating which vehicles first lost control and started the stack. Numerous injuries were reported, but there were no deaths as a result of the accident.
The accidents occurred on the I-90 bridge over the Yellowstone River about a mile west of exit 452 to Lockwood.
Two people involved in the crash for the first time jumped off the Yellowstone River Bridge to escape oncoming vehicles that crashed into the pile. According to a message on the social media of the Montana Highway Patrol, the people who jumped were seriously injured, but are expected to fully recover.
While on the scene, Yellowstone County Sheriff Sgt. Harrison Gillen said members of the Billings and Lockwood Fire Brigade pulled people out of vehicles using the ‘jaws of life’.
A bus from Billings Logan International Airport was used to take several people with minor injuries to MetraPark, Hayter said.
(UPDATE, 13:23) Officials at the scene said there were about 30 to 40 vehicles involved. The interstate will likely be closed for a few hours while Montana Highway Patrol troops investigate the crash.
No deaths have been reported yet, but there are people with serious and minor injuries.
(1st REPORT) Emergency crews are at the scene of a massive pile of vehicles along I-90 in Billings.
The Montana Highway Patrol says the western I-90 is closed from the I-94 junction near Johnson Lane.
The MHP asks that people avoid the area from mile 450 to mile 455.
At this stage, there is no word on whether there were any serious injuries, nor what caused the pile-up.
We will update you when we get more details.