Hundreds stranded all night in freezing temperatures on snowy US highway

This image provided by the Virginia department of Transportation shows a closed section of Interstate 95 near Fredericksburg, Va. Monday Jan. 3, 2022. Both northbound and southbound sections of the highway were closed due to snow and ice. (Virginia Department of Transportation via AP)

Hundreds of motorists were stranded for nearly 24 hours in freezing temperatures along a 50-mile stretch of highway in the US state of Virginia which became impassable when lorries jack-knifed in a winter storm.

The disabled trucks triggered a chain reaction as other vehicles lost control and blocked lanes in both directions of Interstate 95, the main north-south highway along the East Coast, police said.