Heavy Snow Causes 100-Car Pile-Up

Blinding snow wreaked havoc on highways near Edmonton, Canada on Thursday (March 21).  At least 300 people were injured in a 100-car pile-up on the Queen Elizabeth II highway south of Leduc, Alta.

According to the Guardian Express, patients were transported to hospitals surrounding the Edmonton area. Staff members from the Alberta Health Services tweeted that 300 “minor to moderate injuries” had been reported.

A bus passenger on the highway, Derek Fildebrandt, said: “It was a pretty massive pileup, far bigger than I’ve ever seen before. From what I could see there were remarkably few injuries considering the scope of the accident.”

Most injuries were minor, but four people were seriously hurt the Alberta Health Services said in a series of tweets.

There were several other accidents on surrounding roads, but snow fall was so heavy that air ambulance services were forced to decline three emergency requests the Province news agency reported.

Reports said Edmonton police recorded 17 crashes - two that caused injuries, three hit and runs and 12 involving minor damages. The agency also said City police normally respond to an average of between 50 and 70 crashes each day.