One person is dead and seven were injured following a multi-vehicle pileup Friday afternoon that closed Interstate 89 northbound in Milton.

Stephen Ahearn, 44, of Highgate was killed in the crash. Seven other people were transported by ambulance to the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington for treatment of minor to moderate injuries, none of which are believed to be life-threatening.

As of 10:20 p.m., the northbound lanes of I-89 remained closed at Exit 17, the Milton/Lake Champlain Islands exit until Saturday morning as police investigated the crash, and crews including multiple wreckers remove vehicles from the interstate. Northbound traffic is being diverted to U.S. Route 7. The road closure is expected to continue for about another hour.

The crash scene covered an extensive area and involved about 30 vehicles, including several tractor-trailers and fully loaded log trucks, in a cascading scenario of multiple crashes and vehicles driving into the median and off the shoulder of the highway. More than 100 other vehicles were stuck north of Exit 17 but prior to the crash scene, which rendered the interstate impassable. Vermont state troopers and wrecker crews helped drivers whose vehicles remained operable to turn around and drive safely south in the closed northbound lanes back to Exit 17. Other vehicles were towed away.