Crash blocks highway in Columbia, causes commuters delays
An early-morning crash blocked all the lanes of a major interstate Thursday, causing delays for drivers commuting toward Columbia.
The collision occurred at about 7:40 a.m. on Interstate 20, the South Carolina Department of Transportation said on Twitter.
All of the westbound lanes of I-20 were blocked at Exit 68, as emergency officials responded to the wreck, according to the tweet. That is the Monticello Road exit, with the junction to SC 215 toward Jenkinsville.
Ambulances, firetrucks, police cars, and tow trucks were on the scene, and traffic was backed up for several exits, SCDOT cameras showed.
All three westbound lanes on the highway were reopened at about 8:15 a.m., SCDOT tweeted.
The road was not cleared, however, as close to 10 vehicles, including law enforcement patrol cars, were parked on the right shoulder of the highway, SCDOT cameras showed.
At about 8:15 a.m., another crash was reported in the same area, according to the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.
South Carolina Highway Patrol said no injuries were reported in that wreck, but there was no information available on possible injuries caused in the initial collision.
Information was not available on the number of vehicles involved in the initial wreck.
There was no word on the cause of the crash, or if any criminal charges were possible.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
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This story was originally published January 23, 2020 at 8:01 AM.
