Thousands Spend Hours on Turnpike After Crash; ‘It Looked Like a ‘Transformers’ Movie’

Jon Romero of Levittown was supposed to be sleeping after driving home following a night shift at his job in Fort Washington. Instead of sleeping, he spent much of his day meeting new friends and watching first responders tend to injured people along the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Lower Southampton.

Romero and thousands of others got out of their cars and milled around after several accidents, including several pile ups, turned the eastbound lanes of the turnpike into a parking lot. The most serious crash appeared to be near the interchange in Bensalem.

Firefighters and medics from Bucks County and New Jersey walked through the aisles of cars, checking on those stranded in the gridlock. Several people with minor injuries, commonly called the “walking wounded” by first responders, were checked out. A LevittownNow.com reporter watched as one was whisked away by an ambulance.

There were reports of firefighters freeing people from there vehicles along the highway. One scanner transmission indicated a pregnant woman was helped by fire crews.

As of noon, Abington Hospital said they had taken in 16 patients from the crash. St. Mary Medical Center had taken in five and Doylestown Hospital had taken two, an official told LevittownNow.com.

Ambulances and a county mass casualty unit staged near the Bensalem interchange.

“It’s a nightmare,” said a businessman traveling from Lansdale. He added he was grateful no one was killed between all the wrecks that dotted the highway between Willow Grove and Route 1 in Bensalem.

“I saw one crash a bit up, Romero said. “It looked like a ‘Transformers’ movie. There was one fender flying and a gray car spinning around.”

Employees from Sterling Auto in Huntingdon Valley brought bottled water and climbed down an embankment to deliver the water to those stuck on the highway.

“Oh, thank God. I just finished my last two bottles,” one woman was overheard saying.

A few feet away, two FedEx employees picked up a pack of bottles and walked to help distribute the bottled water.

By 1:30 p.m., the American Red Cross and Salvation Army were dispatched to help those stranded. Red Cross spokesman Dave Schrader said volunteers handed out blankets, coffee and food.

PHOTOS & VIDEO: Accidents Make Turnpike a Massive Parking Lot

Due to the crashes, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Authority implemented the “Plan X” protocol, which meant the turnpike would remain closed for several hours.

The crashes started piling up around 8 a.m. and first responders were called to the scenes.

The westbound lanes of the turnpike were not closed as of 10 a.m., which lead to a dangerous situation for medic crews and firefighters using that direction of the roadway to help people trapped on the other side.

Concrete barriers separating the two directions of the turnpike were removed in some spots so some vehicles stuck in the eastbound lanes could head westbound toward Willow Grove.

Authorities have not released a cause for the multiple crashes.

One man, an Amish baker traveling on the turnpike from Lancaster County, said the lanes of the roadway were icy in spots and the shoulder was not entirely cleared by plows. Driver Sue Eisen said she thought a “wicked” sun glare could have factored into the crash.

“The road was never cleared of ice from the night before. The roadway was covered in a 1/4″ to 1/2″ pockmarked sheet of ice. Trust me, I white-knuckled my way from Willow Grove to Bensalem only minutes before this occurred. The PA Turnpike is completely at fault for allowing the roadway to remain in such treacherous condition,” Mike Reiser comment on Facebook.

Whatever the cause, driver stuck in the traffic will not soon forget Valentine’s Day 2014.