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Hundreds Struggle While Stranded On Pa. Turnpike

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - For some of us, being holed up at home is bad enough. But some travelers were stuck on the Pennsylvania Turnpike for nearly 24 hours. The westbound lanes were cluttered with tractor-trailers Saturday.

Some had jackknifed, others got stuck in the snow. Truckers and other drivers ran into problems on the steep hill just before the Allegheny Mountain Tunnels near Bedford.

"Authorized service has been working at pulling them out all night," said John Maurer with the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

'It's just one after a another truck stuck it's just non-stop and don't seem like where getting anywhere, to be honest," said Brandon Moore with the Herring Motor Company.

The vehicles had been stuck so long they were each surrounded by a foot of snow. The storm started last night and cars have been waiting -- since last night.

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Efforts to tow the vehicles and reopen the highway were hampered by never-ending snow combined with freezing temperatures. As a result, the westbound lanes became a parking lot with hundreds of buses, trucks and passenger vehicles waiting in the cold overnight.

"We were at Breezewood at five o'clock last night and we sat for an hour and we've been sitting ever since," said Nancy Weber.

"This is horrible, we've been stuck in the truck for 13 and a half hours and still counting," said Suzy Jensen.

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A group of students were on a bus heading for Bismarck, North Dakota, when they got snarled in the snowy mess.

The Duquesne basketball team was among those stranded. Saturday evening, they tweeted that they were preparing to spend another night stuck on the road.

Some drivers are worried about surviving with very little food gas and other supplies.

"We have no food, we have water. We haven't had any food since yesterday," said Nancy Weber.

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