WE ALWAYS DO THINGS BIG IN TEXAS

At Least 5 Dead After Pileup Involving At Least 100 Cars & Trucks Traps Drivers, Shuts Down I-35W In Fort Worth

 

CBS DFW

February 11, 2021 

FORT WORTH — A multi-car pileup, involving more than 100 vehicles, along Interstate-35W in Fort Worth has shutdown the highway and left several people trapped in their cars.

 

Fort Worth police spokesperson Officer Daniel Segura has confirmed at least 5 people, who have not been publicly identified, were killed in the crash.

“Information will change going throughout the day as we get more information,” Fort Worth Fire Department public information officer Mike Drivdahl said during a morning press conference.

The pileup happened around 6:30 a.m. after freezing rain and sleet fell overnight and into the morning, leaving roadways across North Texas wet and slick.

Pictures and video from CBS 11 News crews at the scene show dozens of vehicles and dozens of 18-wheelers — some hauling cars and trucks — smashed, toppled over, and stacked on top of each other.

Officials say I-35W is backed up in both directions. First responders are calling the crash a ‘mass casualty incident’. Rescuers are having difficulty reaching some victims because of the literal pileup and the blocked roadway.

“First responders actually had difficulty getting to the vehicles,” said Drivdahl. “As they were making their way on the freeway to get to those vehicles it is very slippery. We did have to get quite a bit of sand out here… we did everything we could to get as much traction as possible.”

Multiple ambulances were dispatched to the scene. Officials with MedStar Mobile Healthcare confirm 14 ambulances were used to transport some 36 people to area hospitals. The seriously injured were transported to trauma centers.

No paramedics or EMTs have been injured in the chaos, but they say hypothermia is a concern. “Part of what we’re doing here currently is making sure that we’ve medical personnel here for the first responders because this is a very difficult environment to be working in,” explained MedStar spokesman Matt Zavadsky.

Police are advising anyone involved in the crash, who only has minor damage to their vehicle and is not injured, to please exchange information and continue safely off the interstate. Those people should notify their insurance companies once they arrive at their destination.

For anyone trying to find a friend or loved one, police have set up a ‘family reunification’ center for people to meet and possibly pickup drivers and passengers involved in the pileup. Those trying to get to the crash site are advised to go to the Riverside Community Center, located at 3700 East Belknap.

Police say it will take hours and hours to clear the scene. “It’s gonna be a long time. We’re gonna have to separate a lot of these vehicles with wreckers.”

One of the drivers of a tractor-trailer, Michael Howard, told CBS 11 News he saw crashes ahead of him but couldn’t stop in time.

“You don’t see the ice, ‘til you feel it… You can’t stop, so I steered off into that wall… then the people behind me just bam, bam, bam, bam,” Howard said.

Howard said he steered into the wall to lessen the impact and that everyone who crashed around him walked away.

He added that the roadway had been clear as he drove from Denton. “All of a sudden there’s ice, and everybody’s wrecking.”