I'd say that a lot of times people think that they are safe drivers, and so they think that the weather conditions don't affect them, Sparks said. But I would just say that you can't control what other drivers are doing, first of all, and when you have limited visibility coupled with limited stopping distance because of snowy or icy roads, there's nothing you can do sometimes to prevent a crash.
Seventeen vehicles, including a big rig, were involved in the crash, which happened at approximately 9:15 a.m. on the southbound side of the highway between North and Cedar avenues, the California Highway Patrol said in a news release. CHP said there were at least two separate crashes happening "moments apart." The pileup began when a couple exited their car during the initial crashes and were hit by another vehicle.