Ice on the A38 motorway in the central state of Thuringia caused a 42-vehicle pile-up in the early morning that resulted in 11 injuries, two of them severe, police reported.
Meanwhile a school bus in the southern state of Bavaria slid off a road and hit a tree near Freising, injuring several students.
In northeastern Bavaria, the A9 motorway was closed in both directions due to ice. Trucks travelling in the region were forced to travel at a crawling pace, or remained parked, police said.
Nearby the B173 road between Naila and Wallenfels was impassable due to snow cover.
In North Rhine-Westphalia a man was killed when his vehicle slid out of control on an icy bridge near Hamm and plummeted into the water below, said police. The authorities had to use divers to recover the body.
Heavy snowfall in Brandenburg also caused countless accidents. A police spokesperson near the eastern city of Frankfurt an der Oder said there were 29 weather-related accidents before 9 am. The treacherous conditions continued a series of accidents from Sunday, one of which was deadly, the spokesperson said.
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