Storm leaves at least 5 dead in crashes
ST. LOUIS — A massive winter snowstorm that blanketed most of Missouri and several other Midwest states was a factor in at least five road deaths Saturday and forced the grounds crew to scramble to clear snow from Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City ahead of the NFL playoff game.
The storm moved into Kansas and Nebraska from the Rockies on Friday, then east into Missouri, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana, cov- ering 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 semi jackknifed near Lafayette.
The storm was expected to spread east into the Mid-Atlantic region, with between 3 and 6 inches of snow expected in the Washington area, including parts of northern and central Maryland, by Sunday.
Missouri had gotten the worst of the storm by Saturday, with the National Weather Service reporting more than 18 inches in Columbia.
At least five 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 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-yearold driver from Mexico, the patrol said.