A sudden band of lake effect snow created a scary scene Tuesday on the U.S. 20 bypass.
The crashes started around noon, on a stretch of the highway between State Road 2 and Mayflower Road. In one of three crashes, St. Joseph County Sheriff Bill Redman says at least 15 vehicles were involved but fortunately no one suffered serious injuries.
"One of our officers had responded to a crash when other vehicles started running into each other," Redman said.
The vehicles scattered along the ditch included a police officer’s squad car.
"Our first responding officer looked back and saw a semi- heading his direction, so he actually drove off the road to avoid being struck."
Redman says ideally people would stay off the bypass during bad winter weather but many people simply need to use it.
"You know, it's a main thoroughfare through St. Joe County, so thousands and thousands of cars use that every day to commute, so we can't expect everybody not to want to use it," Redman said. "It is convenient to get around the city of South Bend and Mishawaka but unfortunately on days like this when those snow bands pop up out of nowhere, it makes it treacherous and dangerous for everybody."
