Buffalo, NY (WBEN) Massive multiple vehicle pile-ups along the New York State Thruway and I-190 added to the blizzard gridlock Wednesday afternoon.
The first accident was along the thruway near Batavia and involved multiple tractor-trailer trucks and injuries were reported. All eastbound lanes of the thruway were closed for a time as a reusult of the crash.
NYS Troopers said some of the vehicles involved in the 2 p.m. crash between Buffalo and Rochester were tractor-trailers, even though the trucks had been banned from that part of the thoroughfare because of the storm since Tuesday evening.
A trooper suffered non-life threatening injuries in the crash, state police said. The number and extent of other injuries wasn't immediately known.
Another major accident forced the closure of lanes on the I-190 at Sheridan Drive. Trooper James O'Callaghan says the conditions were blinding at the time of the pile-up. "Everyone's in a good amount of danger in weather like this. Those in Grand Island or Niagara Falls had clear skies, but a few miles away, they're heavily affected, and the wind picks up the snow and it's blinding," says O'Callaghan.
"I anecdotally believe that some tractor-trailer operators are not respecting the ban," the governor said at a news conference in suburban Buffalo. "They should know we're going to enforce that ban and the state police will be out in full force."
The governor later issued a statement saying "violators will be punished with fines up to $450, two points on the license and potential criminal charges."