Thanksgiving weekend snowstorm triggers hundreds of slide-offs and crashes in NW Indiana

LOWELL, Ind. - The Thanksgiving weekend snowstorm in northwest Indiana led to hazardous travel conditions and a surge in emergency calls for state troopers, Indiana State Police said Monday. 

By the numbers:

Between 10 a.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. Sunday, Lowell District troopers handled 120 slide-offs, 84 crashes — including seven with injuries — 40 motorists assisted and checked 10 abandoned vehicles. Nearly half of the incidents occurred along I-65 between Crown Point and Remington, with additional crashes reported on I-80/94.

Late Sunday morning, troopers responded to a crash on I-80 in Hammond where the driver later died; investigators believe the motorist suffered a medical emergency and that the collision itself was not the cause of death. Family members were in the vehicle at the time.

State police said many of the crashes could have been avoided, citing drivers traveling too fast for conditions and following too closely as frequent factors. 

Snow impacting post-Thanksgiving travel

With nearly fifty million people under winter weather alerts this weekend travel. Conditions have been challenging to say the least with Chicago's airports taking the brunt of the delays.

Illinois crashes

Dig deeper:

llinois State Police reported that between 5 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, troopers in the Chicago area responded to 414 crashes with only property damage and 66 crashes that involved injuries.

Troopers also responded to 300 incidents in which motorists needed assistance.

The snowstorm led to about one inch of snowfall per hour during much of the latter part of the day. A record 8.4 inches of snowfall was recorded at O’Hare International Airport, which is the most on a November day in Chicago's history.

What you can do:

Authorities urged motorists to slow down, increase following distance and prepare vehicles for winter as colder weather settles in.