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At a Glance There was ice on the bridge and heavy fog in the area at the time of the crashes.

Some of the victims had life-threatening injuries, the State Police said.

Eastbound and westbound lanes closed for hours.

Most of the injured people were released from hospitals by Monday morning.

Most of the 51 people injured when nearly 70 vehicles were involved in a series of chain-reaction crashes on Virginia’s Interstate 64 have been released from the hospital.

Eastbound and westbound lanes were closed for hours Sunday on I-64 near Williamsburg, Virginia, the state Department of Transportation reported. Eastbound lanes reopened by 11:30 a.m., but westbound lanes didn't reopen until about 3:30 p.m.

There was ice on the bridge and heavy fog in the area at the time of the crashes, which involved 69 vehicles, Virginia State Police spokeswoman Sgt. Michelle Anaya said.

<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/i64-pileup.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273" srcset="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/i64-pileup.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273 400w, https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/i64-pileup.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551 800w" > Aerial image showing the aftermath of the pileup. (Williamsburg Flight Center )

Fifty-one people involved in the accident were taken to hospitals , the Virginia Gazette reported. Eleven injuries were considered serious, and two were considered life-threatening, said Steve Kopczyinski, the chief of York County Fire and Life Safety. The rest of the injuries were minor.

Riverside Health System spokesman Peter Glagola told the Virginian Pilot on Monday morning that 42 of the people admitted to its hospitals have been released. Three others were admitted. Six other people were treated at Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center and Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond.

Riverside Regional Medical Center was treating 24 patients from the accident, a spokesman for the hospital tweeted. One patient has serious injuries, five are being treated for moderate injuries, and 18 for minor injuries.

<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/I64Pileup.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273" srcset="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/I64Pileup.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273 400w, https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/I64Pileup.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551 800w" > About 35 vehicles have been involved in an accident near the Camp Peary exit on Virginia's Interstate 64. Both sides of the interstate closed. (Facebook/York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office)

The crashes began at 7:51 AM in the westbound lanes of I-64 at the Queens Creek Bridge, the State Police said. "The eastbound lanes of I-64 are also closed due to crashes resulting from rubbernecking at the westbound crashes," a Facebook post from the state police said.

Ivan Levy was on his way to work in Williamsburg when he saw the thick fog and slowed down, he told Associated Press.

“Next thing I know I see cars just start piling up on top of each other," he said.

Levy's wife, who was driving in a separate car, couldn't avoid crashing.

“It was just so scary,” said Alena Levy, who was evaluated at a hospital but was not seriously injured.

<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/VSPInterstate64.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273" srcset="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/VSPInterstate64.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273 400w, https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/VSPInterstate64.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551 800w" > About 35 vehicles were involved in a series of chain-reaction crashes that shut down a stretch of Virginia’s Interstate 64 on Sunday, December 22, 2019. (Facebook/Virginia State Police)

Ryan Rogers, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service at Wakefield, told the Virginian Pilot the fog had reduced visibility to less than a quarter mile 20 minutes before the crash occurred.

Freezing fog also was reported at Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport on Sunday morning.