Wrecks close parts of I-70 after snow falls across region

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A major winter storm moving across the region is expected to drop roughly 6 inches of snow on parts of Kansas and Missouri, and the storm is already causing travel problems.

The Kansas Highway Patrol says a section of westbound Interstate 70 near Manhattan closed Sunday morning after a crash involving three semitrailer trucks and two other vehicles blocked the road.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for much of eastern Kansas, Missouri and part of Illinois Sunday. The snow is expected to continue falling throughout Sunday.

In Kansas City, more than 40 traffic collisions were reported by 10 a.m. Sunday, the fire department said.

Police in O’Fallon, Missouri, said a section of westbound Interstate 70 was likely to be closed for several hours Sunday after several crashes in the area.

Already, business is picking up at the America’s Best Value Inn in Lake Saint Louis, manager Kay Thompson said Sunday morning. From the hotel’s second floor, Thompson said she could see the aftermath of a crash on I-70 where a semitrailer truck hit a pickup.

“People who were actually in accidents have been calling me for a room. It’s pretty bad,” Thompson said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.