About 60 cars pile up in Spokane crash after snowstorm

The pileup involving more than 60 vehicles forced authorities to shut down Interstate 90 on Tuesday, the Washington Department of Transportation said.

"There were multiple collisions west of Spokane due to an isolated snow storm that came through the area," Beth Bousley, a WDOT spokeswoman said.

The six wounded had injuries that were not life-threatening, said Orlando Sandoval, deputy fire chief of operations for the Spokane County Fire District 10.

All lanes of I-90 were blocked in both directions for several hours, then one lane in each direction reopened, said Jeff Sevigney, a trooper with the Washington State Patrol District 4.

Forecasters say a brief snow storm hit the Spokane area on Tuesday afternoon.

The crash was so massive that at one point, workers ran out of tow trucks to remove the vehicles, Sevigney said. He added that a bus from Spokane has been taking stranded motorists to a nearby warming center.

More than half an inch of snow fell within 25 minutes, causing very slick conditions Tuesday in parts of Spokane, the National Weather Service office in Spokane said.

A high wind warning remains in effect from 4 a.m. PT Wednesday to midnight Wednesday night for eastern Washington, the weather service said.

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