ben550
New member
Well, my wife son and I took a road trip today to visit my parents in Central PA. I prepped our 2006 V8 4WD 4Runner last night, checked the oil, tire pressure, coolant level, battery connections, brake fluid, etc... Good to go.
We took off early in the morning and were driving on 78 eastbound towards Harrisburg PA around 9:30am. It was bitter cold in the single digits with gusts of wind carrying some snow onto the roadway. Driving conditions were ok. The road was dry. I was driving along on cruise control at about 65mph eating a granola bar... then conditions shifted. We drove into a band of snowfall. I disengaged cruise control and handed off the food. I began to tell my wife how these were the conditions in which you need to slow down and watch out for accidents... Visibility continued to drop. I tucked in behind a Tahoe and we both slowed down to 40mph... Visibility then dropped to about 25 ft if that. Snow started to cover the roadway except for the tire tracks... We slowed down to about 30mph and then right in front of us out of nowhere at the bottom of a small hill was an accident. There were two tractor trailers and three cars. One car in the median grass had spun out. One tractor trailer on the shoulder with two cars that had rear ended him and one tractor trailer sitting in the right lane stopped. Me and the Tahoe were driving in the right lane. We were able to change lanes into the left lane and part of the left shoulder. I hit my 4 ways and quickly got around the tractor trailer. I kept looking in my rear view hoping I was not going to get rear ended by someone flying down the left lane... Some of the drivers had gotten out of their vehicles and were walking around their vehicles assessing the damage... I drove through the wreckage which was not that bad and continued on my way. The visibility opened up again and it was quickly back to blue sky... As I drove away I told my wife that there would probably be a lot of people getting in an accident there...
Later in the evening as I was looking at the local news at my parents place I saw this news report.
I made it through with seconds to spare. It must have exploded into the pileup just behind me...
Yet again, I am blessed to be alive. I am grateful that my family was spared in this accident. My condolences to those three people who were killed and the many others who were wounded.
Eyewitness account: Penn State student describes I-78 pileup crash - The Morning Call
We took off early in the morning and were driving on 78 eastbound towards Harrisburg PA around 9:30am. It was bitter cold in the single digits with gusts of wind carrying some snow onto the roadway. Driving conditions were ok. The road was dry. I was driving along on cruise control at about 65mph eating a granola bar... then conditions shifted. We drove into a band of snowfall. I disengaged cruise control and handed off the food. I began to tell my wife how these were the conditions in which you need to slow down and watch out for accidents... Visibility continued to drop. I tucked in behind a Tahoe and we both slowed down to 40mph... Visibility then dropped to about 25 ft if that. Snow started to cover the roadway except for the tire tracks... We slowed down to about 30mph and then right in front of us out of nowhere at the bottom of a small hill was an accident. There were two tractor trailers and three cars. One car in the median grass had spun out. One tractor trailer on the shoulder with two cars that had rear ended him and one tractor trailer sitting in the right lane stopped. Me and the Tahoe were driving in the right lane. We were able to change lanes into the left lane and part of the left shoulder. I hit my 4 ways and quickly got around the tractor trailer. I kept looking in my rear view hoping I was not going to get rear ended by someone flying down the left lane... Some of the drivers had gotten out of their vehicles and were walking around their vehicles assessing the damage... I drove through the wreckage which was not that bad and continued on my way. The visibility opened up again and it was quickly back to blue sky... As I drove away I told my wife that there would probably be a lot of people getting in an accident there...
Later in the evening as I was looking at the local news at my parents place I saw this news report.
I made it through with seconds to spare. It must have exploded into the pileup just behind me...
Yet again, I am blessed to be alive. I am grateful that my family was spared in this accident. My condolences to those three people who were killed and the many others who were wounded.
Eyewitness account: Penn State student describes I-78 pileup crash - The Morning Call
