Overview
- Police say the crash began around 7:30 p.m. Friday near Minakami when a truck struck a stopped truck, setting off collisions over roughly 300 meters.
- More than 50 vehicles were involved as drivers skidded on icy pavement under a heavy-snow warning with speeds limited to 50 km/h.
- A blaze at the far end of the pileup engulfed over a dozen vehicles and was extinguished after about seven hours, with no additional injuries from the fire reported.
- Authorities report 26 injured, including five in serious condition, and identify the deceased as a 77-year-old woman from Tokyo who was riding with family.
- Kyodo later cited police saying a second body was found in a truck, and sections between the Yuzawa and Tsukiyono interchanges remain closed for investigation and cleanup.