MOUNT GILEAD (UPDATED AT 8:15 p.m.) — Several hours after dozens of vehicles piled up on Interstate 71 in Morrow County earlier today, southbound traffic is moving again. Only emergency vehicles could be seen coming northbound.
Around 4 p.m. multiple car crashes heading north and south on Interstate 71 created traffic backups and temporarily closed a section of the interstate 10 miles south of Bellville, according to a dispatcher at the Ohio State Highway Patrol in Mansfield.
“We have crashes at both the state route 95 exit at mile marker 151 — also known as the Mount Gilead exit and at the State Route 97 exit, which is the Bellville-Lexington exit,” the dispatcher said.
At 8:15 p.m., no traffic, except emergency vehicles, could be seen coming northbound. Traffic was being diverted off the interstate at the Mount Gilead exit.
The southbound lane was reopened sooner. As of 7:45 p.m., southbound traffic was still backed up to the Morrow County line, but traffic later began moving.
Earlier, a dispatcher said both directions were backed up near the same spot. The dispatcher said initial reports indicated 20-25 cars were backed up at the exits. Other news outlets have reported 50 or so vehicles.
“I see nothing about (40-50) cars. I’d just say multiple,” the dispatcher said.
Michelle Kegley Porter, of Lucas, said she was traveling southbound on I-71 and passed a multi-vehicle accident on her way.
