The entire tragic story is made worse by the new details being revealed of the fiery accident around mile market 116 on 81 North in Pennsylvania during a snow squall..
Authorities say the six people killed during the 80-vehicle pileup included four men and two women.
The (Pottsville) Republican-Herald reports that Schuylkill County Deputy Coroner Albert Barnes said Friday that the victims of Monday’s crash on Interstate 81 were between 40 to 70 years old…
But the macabre nature of the event is awful: All were burned beyond recognition. Two are believed to have been from Pennsylvania and the other four from out of state. Names will be released by state police as soon as a positive identity is made and families are notified…
These graphic details are telling as to why officials have been very cautious concerning the death toll.. some publications were rushing to report the number of dead and injured and others were trying to find out the scoop on names and locations.. All the while charred remains were being examined by the county coroner in the aftermath of the horrific accident..
THE WHITEOUT
The accident was fast and furious.. You can see from this now famous video how rapidly the scene turned into chaos and calamity.. A few seconds into this footage you actually see someone come within inches of their own life but through some grace of a higher power the car was able to rotate around his body, thus keeping him alive…
Another scene from the accident came from a dash cam. While a few argued the driver was going too fast, you can equally understand how unexpected the accident scene was in the dense fog and blinding blizzard condition..
TOP OF THE 80S: WHERE IT BEGAN
The interstate highway system was developed in the 1950s and 1960s, in part, as a civil defense project for use in the event of a nuclear conflict with the Soviet Union..
We certainly have no reasons to fear such a nuclear war today, right…..?? Oh .. wait.
Anyway..
The Evening edition of the POTTSVILLE REPUBLICAN showcased a ground breaking of the final stretch of 81 in Schuylkill County on August 13, 1968.
It was the culmination of work that started in 1960 where surveyors and planners decided the highway would roll through Schuylkill’s “picturesque mountains.“
And in a truly monumentally amazing ad, the Schuylkill County Commissioners used a muscular built illustration of a construction worker in a September 22, 1964 ad in REPUBLICAN HERALD saying “another step in the industrial and transportation progress of Schuylkill County” .. the ground breaking ceremony for the anthracite expressway, also known as Highway No. 81.. Governor Bill Scranton even was there for the event:
But within a few years, those picturesque mountains suddenly showcased their dangers: Snow, fog, and harsh conditions. That was illustrated on December 22, 1972, when the Hazleton STANDARD SPEAKER wrote about nearly two dozen Greyhound bus passengers being injured on Interstate 81 ..
The bus smashed into a coal truck on during treacherous conditions..
DEATH ON THE 80S
Every highway and byway can be dangerous. Even rural roads that grace our countryside have enough memorials alongside the road to remind you that they are not immune to tragedy.
But so often it seems 81 is the centralized location of mass chaos.. It just goes with the theme: It is a highway, after all.
Accidents happen–there are mountains, fog, storms.. you name the game, and you’re in it at some point on Interstate 81..
A solemn drive from Maryland to New York often can feature more weather systems than you’d expect.. Depending on the season, you may be 60 and sunny at mile marker 60 but snow and iced 20 more miles North..
Pennsylvania is not the only location where there is fear after safety conditions.
A report ran in 2020 in Virginia about residents almost fearing the narrow lanes of Interstate 81. As a matter of fact, there were also some numbers to back up the Virginia fear: In that state alone, it was tallied that more than 40% of truck accidents occurred on 81! Half of those accidents in Virginia take more than 4 hours to clean due to the nature of the road way .. Virginia even has one stretch of the highway that has been dubbed ‘crash valley.’
Back here in Pennsylvania: After the horrible accident this week, Penn Dot told the TIMES NEWS that “The average daily traffic volume for I-81 north at the crash location is 10,511 vehicles. The average daily traffic volume on I-81 south at the same location is 8,957 vehicles.”
THE MOST DANGEROUS HIGHWAY?
We can be swayed by current events.. This week it felt that 81 was the most dangerous highway. At times, other roadways have been equally frightening..
Drive on 80 during a storm anyone??
There was a Penn Dot report back in 2019 that put the danger theory to the test..
Interstate 95 obviously made the list. Those who drive regularly or even sometimes will know why. Stretched thin with hardly any wiggle room between cars or off the road, there are patches of potholes and rough edges… there are quick exits and way too fast of drivers..
From the PennDot report, it was clear that Harrisburg and Philadelphia are awful traffic areas.. Both cities are positioned at the intersection of many major interstates including I76, I276, I83, I81, and I78. The hub of major commuting and trucking routes. Philadelphia County logged more than 2400 road fatalities between 2004 and 2018.
Mechanicsburg PA seems to be a hot zone, too with the I81 and I83 highways: More than 70,000 tractor trailers roll down this 20-mile stretch every single day. The constant congestion resulted in 14 fatal wrecks from 2015 to 2017..
Another report done by ‘A Secure Life’ said that Interstate from saw 28 fatalities in the summer months between 2015 and 2017 on its 232 miles of pavement..
THE RACE TO DEATH: BEING THE FIRST WITH THE WORST
The social media age of instant video and information made this past week’s Interstate 81 accident even more intense..
Within minutes of the initial accident, videos were being posted to Facebook, including the one re-Tweeted by Josh Holden that appears at the beginning of this article. But it seemed as though the videos were being taken down just as fast as they were uploaded–perhaps by Facebook or perhaps by the user as the footage went immediately viral.
The news of this traffic incident made national headlines, appearing in AP dispatches that were sent around the planet..
Also within minutes: The macabre questions over the the death count.. how many. What number.. from where.. what ages.. All of those facts were blurred in the immediate aftermath. The only official thing anyone knew is that the county coroner was called–and that he had his work cut out for him..
Police were hushed about the official count, waiting for days–families need to be notified. Next of kin.. true and awful dramatic knocks on doors or calls on telephones needed to be made before officials broadcast the names and ages of the deceased…
But that didn’t stop some purveyors of rumor and gossip from flourishing online, disrespecting the dead.. There is a true need for public information and officials to release the chain of events that led to the awful incident. But in the end, knowing whether it was 5 or 6, or 7, was not going to change what occurred. Respect, and time, was necessary before the final numbers were released.
This weekend we see why some facts were held back: The bodies were charred and burned beyond recognition…
There were also some passersby who decided to park on the Southbound side and rush through the median just to snap photos of the accident scene. Midweek, police started saying to stay away.. that there were enough pictures already on social media .. let clean up crews do their jobs..
When awful events happen these days, the first place race is on. But some times first is worst if you don’t have your facts, or decide to report unofficial numbers before confirmation..
Journalistic traditions are gone, anyway.. So why bother, right?
NOT THE FIRST AND NOT THE LAST
As we close the book on this latest mass casualty event on Interstate 81, we are left with the sad feeling that it sure was not the first, and definitely will not be the last.
Some eventful moments stick out in the history of the highway.
Such as a deadly ‘Day of the Fog’ in 1991.. This was one of the more famous incidents that took place in history.
On February 19, 1991, dozens of chain reaction pile ups occurred on a 13-mile stretch of the highway. State troopers were still counting cars and accidents the next day because of just how many occurred.
The Chambersburg PUBLIC OPINION wanted to hear your stories of being terrified on the highway on November 26, 1993..
All Interstate systems eventually become the necessary evil–the miracle of the Eisenhower years mixed with the pothole filled reality of modern times.
We drive because we need to, not because we choose to..
And we are on Interstate 81 because it exists.. And existence that has become weathered and weary, not changing much at all since its inception during the post-war baby boom era..
