Snowstorm linked to five road deaths

ST. LOUIS — A winter snowstorm that blanketed most of Missouri and several other Midwest states was a factor in at least five road deaths Saturday.

The storm moved into Kansas and Nebraska from the Rockies on Friday, then east into Missouri, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana, covering roads and making driving dangerous. Part of Interstate 44 near St. Louis was blocked for several hours Saturday, and at one point the Missouri State Highway Patrol warned of traffic delays as long as eight hours.

In Indiana, the northbound lanes of Interstate 65 were closed for hours Saturday after a tractor-trailer jackknifed along the snow-covered highway near Lafayette, about 65 miles northwest of Indianapolis.

The storm was expected to spread east into the Mid-Atlantic region, with between 3 and 6 inches of snow expected in the Washington, D.C. area, including parts of northern and central Maryland, by today.

At least five people were killed in crashes on slick roadways in Kansas and Missouri. They included a woman and her 14-year-old stepdaughter whose car slid into the path of a semitrailer in Clinton, about 80 miles southeast of Kansas City, on Friday, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said. Another woman died when her car slid on U.S. 24 in northern Missouri and was hit by an oncoming SUV.

In Kansas, a 62-year-old man died after his pickup skidded on the Kansas Turnpike and hit a concrete barrier, according to the patrol. Another crash involving two semitrailers in snowy conditions killed a 41-year-old driver from Mexico, the patrol said.