Death toll rises to 8, with 63 injured, in a 1.6km highway section accident.
The visibility was nearly zero due to fog; I hit the brakes but was rear-ended.
The tally of damaged vehicles and casualties from the chain collision accident in Louisiana, USA, on the 23rd (local time), has increased in just one day.
According to the Louisiana State Police on the 25th, the number of damaged vehicles from the collision accident on Interstate 55 (I-55) in the ‘Saint John the Baptist Parish area northwest of New Orleans was at least 168. The death toll was 8, and the number of injured was 63.
The figures announced on the day of the accident were 158 damaged vehicles, 7 deaths, and 25 injured.
Authorities have announced that all vehicles at the scene of the accident have been towed, and Department of Transportation employees are currently cleaning up the accident debris and fuel and chemicals spilled from the vehicles.
According to the AP and other sources, the police said at a briefing at the scene the day before that the accident started before 9 a.m. on the 23rd, and a chain collision occurred in a one-mile (1.6 km) section of the highway.
The main culprit causing the multiple collisions was identified as ‘super fog.’
According to New Orleans Advocate’s local newspaper, accident victim Clarencia Patterson Reed (46) said the I-55 highway was heavily fogged that morning.
She said that she managed to stop just before colliding with the car in front of her during the accident, but several cars behind her started hitting her one after another.
Clarencia recalled the time of the accident, saying, “There was a bang, bang sound,” and “I kept hearing the sound of collisions for at least 30 minutes.”
She exited the car, but her wife, Lisa Patterson Reed (56), was trapped in the car and injured her ribs and legs.
Reed, who had come outside, said she saw two large trailer trucks on fire ahead.
Another victim, Christopher Coll (41), shared a similar experience.
He said that while driving a truck in dense fog on the I-55 highway at the time of the accident, he discovered a pile-up of accident vehicles ahead and quickly hit the brakes.
However, a pickup truck immediately behind him hit the trailer part of his vehicle, and the impact caused him to collide with the pile of vehicles in front.
He had to kick open the passenger door to escape the car and said, “The air was filled with a pungent smell of smoke and the smell of radiator coolant leaking from the car.”
Also, he added that he heard the sound of ongoing collisions, tires bursting, and other victims calling for help.
He was fortunately unhurt, but his vehicle was destroyed. He said, “It was terrible. It was the worst accident I’ve ever seen.”
According to CNN, meteorologists explained that super fog occurs when moisture and smoke mix, reducing visibility to less than 10 feet (about 3 meters).
On the morning of the accident, the fog was weighty, and visibility was estimated to be close to zero.
The section where the accident occurred is where fog is frequent in the morning as it crosses a large lake connected to the sea, and it was analyzed that ‘super fog’ was formed by combining with smoke from recent fires in the surrounding area.
Louisiana has been suffering from wildfires and droughts since this summer due to the effects of climate change, with unusually high temperatures and dry weather.
CNN reported that a severe drought is continuing across 62% of Louisiana, and fires are burning under the wetland soil near New Orleans, close to the accident area, so authorities are continuing to monitor.
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