Northbound I-71 shut down late Thursday night after a fiery crash sent a motorcycle up in flames on the interstate, snarling traffic for hours before the lanes reopened. Dashcam footage captured the aftermath, showing one motorcycle burning in the roadway while three others appeared pulled over nearby.
The crash closed I-71 northbound at Red Bank Expressway in Silverton, Ohio, according to WKRC, which first reported on the closure. A separate report from WLWT placed the crash near the Stewart Road exit, so the exact point along the highway where it happened is not consistent between the two accounts.
Dashcam Video Shows Motorcycles Before the Fire
Dashcam video reviewed by WKRC shows three motorcycles traveling down the interstate, and the same three motorcycles later appear pulled over on the shoulder. An apparent fourth motorcycle shows up in the footage sitting in the roadway, engulfed in flames.
An eyewitness told the station he saw motorcyclists traveling down the roadway just minutes before he arrived at the scene of the crash.
Traffic Backed Up for Hours Overnight
Ohio Department of Transportation traffic cameras showed the lanes shut down in the area around 11 p.m., with a major backup building near the crash site, the WLWT report noted. That outlet's account also said it was not clear whether anyone was hurt or exactly how the crash happened.
By early Friday morning, authorities still had not released any information regarding the crash, according to the WKRC report. The northbound lanes of I-71 did reopen after the fiery scene was cleared, though neither report specified how long the closure lasted or the precise time traffic began moving again.
Another Fatal Motorcycle Crash Shut Down I-75
The Silverton-area crash comes amid a string of serious motorcycle incidents on Cincinnati-area interstates. The Ohio State Highway Patrol investigated a fatal motorcycle crash that shut down I-75 North in Clear Creek Township, near the Warren-Montgomery County line, after a crash late on a Sunday night, as WLWT also reported. That crash happened around 9:45 p.m., and state troopers confirmed one person died. The highway was closed for more than two hours before it reopened, according to the same report.
