Multiple pileups shuts down interstate

MARTIN COUNTY - Mike McClendon could only laugh about it. He was hungry and hot and stuck in a long line of cars parked in the northbound lanes of I-95.

When asked how long he'd been waiting, McClendon replied, "About an hour and a half, two hours, just sitting here."

Hundreds of drivers spent more than a hour stuck on I-95 Friday afternoon when 28 separate traffic crashes shut down the northbound lanes between Jupiter and Hobe Sound.

The first crash happened around 5:30 p.m. near Bridge Road. The Florida Highway Patrol believes rain caused the wreck.

As traffic slowed for that crash, car after car collided, dotting the road with debris from the Palm Beach County line to Hobe Sound.

Troopers from both the Ft. Pierce and Lake Worth offices, Martin County Sheriff's deputies and paramedics, along with crews from Palm Beach County and dozens of wreckers all rushed to the scene.

There were no life threatening injuries but several people were transported to local hospitals.

The road reopened around 8 p.m.

Troopers said there were a total of 28 accidents.