Five dead in series of multi-vehicle highway collisions believed to be caused by ice on roads

A series of multi-vehicle collisions occurred near the Namsangju Interchange on the Seosan–Yeongdeok Expressway in North Gyeongsang on Saturday morning, leaving five people dead.

A car burns after an accident on the Seosan-Yeongdeok Expressway on Jan. 10. [GYEONGBUK FIRE SERVICE HEADQUARTERS]

A series of multi-vehicle collisions occurred near the Namsangju Interchange on the Seosan–Yeongdeok Expressway in North Gyeongsang on Saturday morning, leaving five people dead.

The accidents are believed to have been caused by so-called black ice, a thin, nearly invisible layer of ice that formed on the road as temperatures dropped sharply that day.

According to police and other authorities, a 9.5-ton cargo truck traveling toward Yeongdeok near the Namsangju Interchange broke through a guardrail as it swerved around a stopped vehicle and fell off the roadway at around 6:10 a.m., killing the driver. Seven cars just behind the truck also crashed, injuring seven people.

About an hour later, at 7:02 a.m., a nine-vehicle collision occurred in the opposite, Cheongju-bound lanes about one kilometer (0.62 miles) away. That crash reportedly happened when a sedan failed to slow down and slammed into a trailer truck. Police said all four people aboard the sedan were killed, while at least one other person was injured.

In another accident, a sport utility vehicle erupted into flames after colliding with a truck and crashing into a guardrail near the interchange at 6:35 a.m.

According to police, a total of 20 vehicles were involved in the accidents.

Lanes in both directions of the expressway were closed for nearly four hours after the accidents, resulting in severe traffic congestion. Traffic is now gradually returning to normal. Of the two Cheongju-bound lanes, one has reopened, while cleanup crews continue working in the other to remove steel rebars that spilled from a cargo truck.

While police are still investigating the exact cause of the crashes, black ice is suspected to be the primary factor. Light rain fell in the area, and temperatures in Sangju dropped to minus 2.4 degrees Celsius (27.7 degrees Fahrenheit), creating conditions favorable for the formation of black ice.

According to the Korea Expressway Corporation, roads affected by black ice are about 14 times more slippery than normal roads and roughly six times more slippery than snow-covered roads, making the phenomenon a leading cause of major winter traffic accidents.

The scene of one of the accidents that occurred on Jan. 10, as captured by closed-circuit television operated by the Korea Expressway Corporation [KOREA EXPRESSWAY CORPORATION]

The Sangju city government sent out an emergency alert prior to the accidents, warning drivers to slow down and maintain safe distances between vehicles, especially on mountain passes and shaded areas. In December 2019, multiple pileups caused by black ice also occurred at several locations on the Sangju–Yeongcheon Expressway, killing seven people.

A police official said further investigation, including analysis of vehicle black box footage, is needed to determine whether black ice was the direct cause of the accidents. “During winter, roads can become slippery due to black ice,” the official said, emphasizing that drivers must exercise extreme caution in cold weather.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY KIM JUNG-SEOK [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]