Nearly 70 vehicles involved in pileups just north of Illinois-Wisconsin border

Up to 70 vehicles were involved in pileups Friday afternoon on highways just north of the Illinois-Wisconsin border.

A crash on westbound I-94 near Kenosha completely shut down traffic on the interstate for several hours, Illinois State Police said.

Around 1:45 p.m., Wisconsin State Patrol officials informed the Illinois State Police of the crash. Traffic was diverted off I-94 at both Route 173 and Russell Road, state police said.

To the west, a massive pileup on Interstate 39/90 shut down the all lanes between Janesville and Beloit.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the crash occurred 12:30 p.m. Friday amid whiteout conditions, and Wisconsin troopers arrived to find the interstate blocked in both directions. All lanes had reopens by 4:30 p.m.

Beloit Memorial Hospital reported receiving 27 patients from the crash with injuries that included head, neck and shoulder pain, according to television news reports.