BELOIT, Wis. -- An 85-vehicle pileup on Interstate 39/90 between Janesville and Beloit Friday afternoon left 21 people hurt and shuttered the busy highway for much of the day, the Wisconsin State Patrol said.
In a news release Friday night, the agency said the 21 people who were hurt in the series of crashes were taken to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.
One person died in an unrelated crash, the release said.
READ MORE:Driver dies after crashing into semi-truck in Janesville, State Patrol says
First responders started receiving reports of a crash around 12:30 p.m. on the interstate near mile marker 181 near East L T Townline Road, the agency said. When troopers got to the scene, they found the highway blocked in both directions.
Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. Courtesy: WisDOT.
- Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. Courtesy: WisDOT.
Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
- Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
- Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
- Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
- Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
Tow trucks help recover multiple vehicles following a pileup on Interstate 39/90 between Janesville and Beloit. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
- Tow trucks help recover multiple vehicles following a pileup on Interstate 39/90 between Janesville and Beloit. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
- Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
PHOTOS: Pileup shuts down Interstate 39/90 in Rock County
Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. Courtesy: WisDOT.
- Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. Courtesy: WisDOT.
Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
- Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
- Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
- Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
- Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
Tow trucks help recover multiple vehicles following a pileup on Interstate 39/90 between Janesville and Beloit. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
- Tow trucks help recover multiple vehicles following a pileup on Interstate 39/90 between Janesville and Beloit. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
- Traffic backs up due to a pileup on Interstate 39/90 that shut down the highway between Janesville and Beloit. Multiple vehicles also slid off the road. WISC-TV/Channel3000.
The state patrol said snow, ice and whiteout conditions are believed to be factors in the crash.
Nearly nine hours after the crash was reported, the highway reopened to northbound traffic, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. The southbound lanes reopened shortly before 8 p.m.
In a Facebook post shared Friday afternoon, officials with the Rock County Sheriff's Office asked drivers to avoid the area entirely, adding that deputies were handling "several multiple-vehicle accidents" and subsequent pileups.
First responders from parts of Wisconsin and Illinois responded to the scene, according to a Facebook post from theBeloit Professional Fire Fighters Local 583.
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