TOWN OF ELLISBURG, New York (WWNY) – Northbound lanes on Interstate 81 are open again after a tractor trailer jackknifed in the town of Ellisburg Tuesday morning.
Traffic stretched for more than a mile, backing up traffic to Exit 39. David Scalisi was stuck in the traffic.
“It took an hour to go from 39 to 40,” he said.
Police say the flash lake effect snow caused a crash involving five vehicles. Three of them were tractor trailers.
One jackknifed, blocking traffic. Nobody was hurt. Police say it happened right after 8 a.m. near the northbound 41 exit in the town of Adams.
“It was slow, stop, stop, stop, slow. It was creeping along. There were times we were stopped for 15 minutes at some points,” said Scalisi.
All vehicles were diverted off the highway at Exit 40 near Pierrepont Manor. The excess traffic and slick conditions caused another truck to slide off the road less than a mile from where all the vehicles exited the highway, creating a jam of its own.
Derrigo’s Service Center towed a couple of big rigs away from the scene on I-81. The owner, Domenic Derrigo, says a truck hit the tractor trailer after it jackknifed. The hood of the truck crumpled (see photo below).
“About as busy as you can get on the – it was like the first day of snow all over again,” he said.
Derrigo says his company handled five tows – all before noon.
“Nobody was ready for this. It just came on like that,” he said.
Both scenes were cleared shortly after 10 a.m.
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