2 die as drivers lose control on icy I-80

Two people were killed and others injured in a crash involving 15 vehicles — nine of them semi-trailer trucks — early Sunday on an ice-covered Interstate 80 at the exit for Highway 1 into Iowa City.

The Iowa State Patrol said the crashes happened about 5:40 a.m. on westbound I-80, which the patrol said was “100 percent ice” at the time.

“Even though the crash is still under investigation, we know that several drivers lost control of their vehicles and collided into each other. As this very unfortunate chain of events transpired, two people lost their lives, and several others were injured,” said a statement from Trooper Robert Conrad, a patrol public resource officer.

“This crash demonstrates the importance of all drivers paying attention, every single minute, to road conditions and potential hazards ahead,” he said.

The crash happened on the westbound lanes near Mile Marker 246. The patrol said there were additional crashes in the eastbound lanes. Traffic initially was detoured, but by Sunday afternoon the patrol said only one westbound lane remained closed and was expected to reopen later in the day.

The names of those killed and injured have not yet been released.

The National Weather Service had issued a dense fog advisory until noon Sunday for an area that included the Iowa City vicinity.

“Areas of fog, which has become locally dense, have expanded over parts of eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois early this morning,“ the weather service reported early Sunday. ”In addition to reduced visibilities to a quarter mile or lower at times, moisture from the fog could freeze on pavement leading to slippery travel conditions.“

Forecasters said patchy fog would remain Sunday, especially for Northeast Iowa, but the potential for more dense fog was diminishing.