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Interstate 70 is the road my wife travels to get to work every day. Although she was off yesterday for Martin Luther King Day, this is the kind of accident that could happen this time of the year.

Too many people go way too fast on the stretch of highway between Frederick and Hagerstown, and with just a little bit of snow yesterday, this is what happens:

A sudden 1 1/2-inch snowfall turned I-70 westbound deadly Monday, killing two Frederick County people and injuring more than a dozen.

Forty cars, seven tractor-trailers and three box trucks collided on I-70 just east of the 36-mile marker west of Myersville, said Lt. Sandy Trumpower of the Mount Aetna fire department.

The pileup was reported at 12:20 p.m., police said. Vehicles began being removed about 5 p.m., after the Maryland State Police Aviation Division documented the crash scene.

Cpl. James Grinnan of the Maryland State Police said the two people who died were from Frederick County. He could not release their names as their relatives had not been contacted.

By 9:30 p.m., traffic backups continued to extend about 10 miles in both directions of I-70, according to a state press release.--

The crash likely was a result of the sudden snowfall, which may have caused a chain reaction, Trumpower said.

First, the snowfall wasn't sudden, it had been forcast for days. Second, it was not white out conditions making visibility impossible.

Did snow contribute to the accident--of that I have no doubt. But it was snow combined with speed. Drivers on that stretch of highway routinely drive 75, 80, 85 or even 90 miles per hour. It is not safe, it is not smart and two people paid the ultimate price yesterday.

Please people--slow down. Better to arrive late than never.