What it's like to be in the middle of a 61-car pileup

Snowy, icy road conditions near a bridge on Minnesota's Highway 55 caused a 61-car pileup on Monday — and produced one harrowing video.

The footage — taken by one of the drivers in the pileup — showed the ensuing chaos after a two-car crash caused a semitractor-trailer to jackknife and more than four dozen vehicles to crash behind it.

Joe Mueller, the driver who shot the video, attempted to help fellow motorists as more and more cars piled up along the icy roadway. The crunch of crashing cars can be heard throughout, with onlookers watching helplessly from behind a barrier.

Incredibly, just one person was hospitalized with minor injuries as a result of the pileup, according to the Pioneer Press. And, according to Minnesota State Patrol Lt. Eric Roeske, damage to the vehicles behind the semi was "considered minor."

Officials closed the highway's westbound lanes for nearly two hours to clear the scene.

"People need to remember how to drive in winter," Don Zenanko, a dispatcher for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, told the Star Tribune.