FOUR people are dead and many others injured after a 50-car pile-up in Ohio sent vehicles flying, with at least one car ending up on top of several others.
The massive crash has led troopers to issue an urgent warning against travel as white-out conditions make roads extremely dangerous.
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The incident occurred on the eastbound side of the Ohio turnpike in Sandusky county Friday afternoon.
Photos from the scene showed several vehicles, including tractor-trailers, smashed against one another on the icy highway.
One picture appeared to show a black pickup truck on top of a blue truck.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol said that four people died while "many" others were hurt.
More on the 'bomb cyclone'
The crash came hours after state officials issued a full travel ban for high-profile vehicles which covers the entire 241-mile Ohio Turnpike due to the "bomb cyclone".
The travel ban went into effect at 6am on Friday and will remain in place until 8am Sunday.
Due to the high winds and snowy conditions across the Midwest, all high-profile tow-behind trailers, campers, boats and enclosed trailers were banned on the turnpike.
All mobile homes, office trailers and livestock trailers were also prohibited.
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Any long combination vehicles (LCV) that include long double-trailer combinations exceeding 90 feet in length and all LCV triple-trailer combinations were also banned.
Officials have begun closing the turnpike's eastbound lane by exit 91 and will divert traffic away from there.
They will also close it at exit 110 to help first responders clear the pile-up.
“This is going to be ongoing for a while,” an OSHP spokesperson told ABC 13.
“There are a lot of troopers and first responders out there working through this.”
'BOMB CYCLONE'
A "once in a generation" winter event is battering over 30 states across the US with sub-freezing temperatures, heavy snow and powerful winds.
The "bomb cyclone" event is expected to linger around until Christmas.
On Friday, more than one million Americans woke up without power, and thousands of flights were grounded across several airports.
Officials in Texas and Kentucky have recorded at least four people have died due to the extreme conditions.
On the roads, some areas have seen drifts of more than 10 feet.
The National Weather Service in Minnesota said: "This event could be life-threatening if you are stranded."
The bad weather has already left two-thirds of the country under extreme weather alerts.
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“This is not like a snow day when you were a kid,” President Joe Biden warned Thursday.
He added: “This is serious stuff.”
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