Watch the terrifying moment a snowplow launched a maelstrom of snow and icy debris at oncoming motorists zooming down the highway, injuring 12 and damaging at least 40 vehicles.
Published Jan. 28, 2022 11:29 AM EST | Updated Jan. 28, 2022 12:05 PM EST
A snowplow driver is on administrative leave after blasting oncoming traffic on the Ohio Turnpike with an icy torrent of snow early this week.
At least 40 cars were damaged by the flying debris or in accidents caused by it, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Twelve people have reported injuries from the incident in Erie County on Jan. 23 outside of Norwalk, Ohio, which is about 55 miles west of Cleveland.
Police said the snowplow was traveling west while throwing large quantities of snow and ice across the highway onto the eastbound cars.
Footage captured on truck driver Michael Lemon's dashcam shows the plow appearing to travel as fast as the rest of the traffic, around 70 mph, causing it to blast ice, snow and slush onto vehicles traveling in the opposite direction. Cars can be seen swerving off the road after being hit by the blast of snow sent flying by the plow.
"I've never seen anything like that. I didn't know how to react, I was just dumbfounded that somebody could be so reckless," Lemon told 3WTKR. Other drivers were caught by surprise as well, he continued. "A lot of them didn’t even know what to do; they just they kind of tried to stay in their own lane and hope to weather it."
Lemon added that dozens of the cars sustained damage including his own vehicle, which suffered a blown-out headlight in his truck. He said another car that was caught up in the maelstrom was left with a hole in its front windshield.
The snowplow propelled a torrent of ice, snow and slush onto traffic traveling in the opposite direction on the Ohio Turnpike in Erie County on Jan. 23. (Michael Lemon, Titanium Transportation Ltd. via ViralHog)
"It was the snowplow!" a woman can be heard on the dashcam of a state trooper responding to people whose vehicles had been forced off the turnpike by the snowplow. "My husband saw him and there wasn't time to do anything. I'm surprised we didn't wind up in a ditch!"
In a statement, the Ohio Turnpike Commission said the driver appeared to have caused damage to approximately 40 cars and trucks over a stretch of a couple of miles of highway and that the plow could be blamed for accidents and injuries as well.
“As with any incident that results in accident or injury, the employee was immediately removed from shift and sent for mandatory drug and alcohol testing," officials said in the statement.
The Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission said it has placed the 54-year-old plow driver on administrative leave pending an investigation and is working with those affected by the incident.
Vehicle owners affected by the incident can file a report with the Ohio State Highway Patrol and can also file a property damage claim online with the Ohio Turnpike.
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