FAIRVIEW TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Five people were hospitalized Thursday night after an 18-vehicle pileup involving two tractor-trailers shut down a section of Interstate 83 North in York County for several hours, according to emergency officials.

As reported by WHP and WGAL, the crash happened around 6:30 p.m. near Exit 39 (Route 114/Lewisberry Road) in Fairview Township. The Fairview Township Fire Department said crews arrived to find a “large field of debris” stretching across all northbound lanes of the highway, with multiple damaged vehicles and several people injured.

^{Photo credit: Fairview Township Fire Company}

Pennsylvania State Police confirmed that a total of 18 vehicles were involved in multiple collisions along the northbound side of I-83. The largest of these crashes involved nine vehicles, including two tractor-trailers, while additional secondary crashes occurred in the traffic backlog caused by the initial pileup.

Five people were transported to local hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to moderate. Their current conditions have not been released. No fatalities were reported.

^{Photo credit: Fairview Township Fire Company}

PennDOT said traffic was initially diverted off Exit 36, but as congestion built, another crash occurred in the backup, forcing authorities to extend the closure south to Exit 35. Both lanes remained closed for several hours while crews cleared debris, removed wrecked vehicles, and treated leaking fluids from the trucks. The interstate fully reopened ahead of Friday morning’s commute.

^{Photo credit: WHP}

Witnesses staying at a nearby hotel described hearing the crash as it unfolded. One resident said the impact “sounded like massive mounds of metal slamming together,” while another recalled his wife calling him to warn, “Do not come home 83, because there was a horrible accident in front of our house.” Drivers reported being detoured through residential roads, with some four-minute trips stretching into 20-minute drives due to gridlock.

^{Photo credit: Fairview Township Fire Company}

A worker at a nearby business said the sound of the impact was “like a heavy load falling off a tractor-trailer.”

State Police are still investigating what triggered the initial crash, including whether speed, road conditions, or visibility played a role.

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