HIXTON, Wis. — Icy roads created havoc in central and southern Wisconsin on Thursday, contributing to several crashes and road closures along a stretch of Interstate 94.
Freezing rain caused the treacherous road conditions, the Wisconsin State Patrol said in a Facebook post. Troopers are investigating several crashes and runoffs over a 60-mile stretch of I-94 south of Eau Claire.
At about 5:45 a.m. CST, a semitrailer slid in the median near Hixton and caught fire with two cars underneath it, WISN-TV reported.
The State Patrol has not been able to confirm how many wrecks occurred. State Patrol Lt. Tim Weiberg told Wisconsin Public Radio the number was near 40, The Associated Press reported.
Authorities closed off I-94 at around 6:55 a.m. CST, WMTV-TV reported. Traffic cameras provided by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation showed long lines of vehicles backed up at the eastbound and westbound ends of the closure, the television station reported.
Wisconsin State Patrol Sgt. Sean Berkowitch told WEAU-TV that multiple crashes closed I-94 from Osseo in Trempealeau County to Northfield in Jackson County.
Berkowitch told the television station that vehicles were unable to make it up the hills on that stretch of interstate, causing several vehicles to be stuck. State Patrol and other first responders responded to at least four more active crashes and one fire, WTMJ-TV reported.
Officials with the State Patrol said there were no fatalities, and that all injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, WISN reported.
“The crash involved no fatalities or (serious) injuries,” Wisconsin State Patrol’s Northwest Region Eau Claire Post stated in a news release.