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Show fc 4.. - IUI.. -t . .. I . , Tow truck pulls car out of the meridian between northbound and southbound lanes of 1-15 Monday after a sudden winter storm caused an estimated 50-car pile up between Point of the Mountain and Lehi. The Interstate was closed for almost two hours. Winter storm blows through county, strands 50 cars on 1-15 Monday A fast-moving winter storm caught motorists in its grasp Monday morning, sending many of them in directions they didn't really want to go -- of f the high way . The storm struck about 9:30 a.m., bringing with it rapidly lowering temperatures and blizzard conditions. con-ditions. The storm, which generated winds of up to 63 miles per hour in the area, forced the closure of both the north-and north-and south-bound lanes of Interstate-15 Interstate-15 from Bluffdale to Orem when vehicles slid every which direction on the highway. The highway was closed for a little over an hour when a 50-car pileup occurred on 1-15 south of Point of the Mountain. The Utah Highway Patrol reported the pile-up, coupled with numerous other minor accidents, closed the freeway in both directions from 10:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Five ambulances - including emergency vehicles from Lehi, American Fork and Pleasant Grove -- were called to transport the injured in-jured to the hospital. A spokesperson at American Fork Hospital said about a dozen people were brought into the Emergency Room from the accident. All but one were treated and released. One person, taken to Orem Community Hospital by private car, was treated and released from that facility. A Salt Lake City woman described how her car was blown across the highway after she stopped and got outside the automobile. She said the wind also blew her across the interstate in-terstate until she was caught by two men who helped her into a truck and drove her to a Lehi convenience store to wait for the storm to pass. Accidents were also reported on U-92 (between 1-15 and American Fork Canyon). Blowing snow and limited visibility also created hazardous driving conditions in American Fork, Lehi and Pleasant Grove. |