At least seven people were killed and dozens injured Monday when 158 vehicles collided during “super foggy” conditions on a Louisiana highway, authorities said.
Other motorists could be discovered dead as first responders sort through burned and mangled cars involved in a series of two-way crashes on Interstate 55, Louisiana State Police said.
The exact number of injuries is unknown, but at least 25 people were rushed to area hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to critical.
Gov. John Bel Edwards called on blood donors to replenish supplies following the accidents.
Officials said the devastation may have been caused by super fog – a combination of smoke from nearby swamp fires and thick fog – that severely limited visibility on the highway.
First responders are seen near the debris after a multi-vehicle crash on I-55 in Manchac, Louisiana, on Oct. 23, 2023.AP
One survivor said she heard the sound of metal compacting and tires bursting as cars crashed into each other for at least half an hour straight.
“It was ‘Boom.’ Boom.’ The only thing you could hear was a collapse for at least 30 minutes,” Clarencia Patterson Reed told The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate.
Reed was driving with his wife and niece toward Manchac when he found himself in the middle of one of the multi-car crashes. She said she saw people on the road signaling her to stop, but when she hit the brakes she was hit from behind and the side by two other vehicles.
The vehicles were crushed, crashed into each other and some were engulfed in flames.AP
She emerged largely unharmed and was able to get out of the car, but his wife was trapped inside with a wound to her leg and side, he told the local newspaper.
Another driver told the outlet that a pickup truck crashed into his vehicle “and took me for a spin” after he braked to slow down.
Christopher Coll, 41, had to kick open the passenger door to get out of his crushed car. Once outside, he ran to help others trapped inside their vehicles and pulled one person out of his car window, he said.
Twenty-five people were injured and the death toll may rise.AP/Gerald Herbert
Many of the vehicles caught fire, adding more dark smoke to the fog-covered sky and complicating rescue efforts. At least one car plunged over the side of the causeway into the water of lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas, but the driver escaped unharmed, according to state police.
The crash stopped traffic in both directions on I-55 for miles and authorities brought in school buses to rescue stranded drivers.
As the sun set, the smell of smoke still hung in the air as dozens and dozens of charred cars remained piled on top of each other on the interstate where firefighters searched for bodies and stranded survivors.
Many people initially stood on the side of the road or on the roof of their vehicle staring in disbelief at the disaster, while others cried out for help.AP Hours after the accidents, the smell of burning remains still lingered in the area.AP
A tanker carrying a dangerous liquid was being unloaded from the accident site.
None of the dead had been publicly identified as of Monday night while state police were still working to notify families.
State police are investigating the exact causes of the various crashes and have asked the Louisiana Department of Transportation to conduct an inspection of the portion of the I-55 bridge where many of the crashes occurred.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn