Weather conditions, driver error said responsible for massive pile-up on I-70

PLAINFIELD -- The Indiana State Police (ISP) have released a report that confirms weather conditions and driver error were the major cause of the massive Jan. 31 pileup on Interstate 70, west of State Road 267 in Hendricks County.

The massive accident, involving 24 vehicles (11 semis, 12 passenger vehicles and one box truck), left one person dead and several injured and closed the interstate for hours.

"A sudden snow fall occurred, creating a white-out condition and bringing visibility to nearly zero,"

 the report noted.

Resulting conditions forced drivers to "brake suddenly," which proved problematic for the semi-trucks.

ISP investigators were unable to determine whether any specific vehicle was late to slow or stop, but concluded that almost all of the drivers were going too fast to adjust to the white-out conditions.

Others appeared to be following vehicles in front of them too closely, the report added.